Made Especially For You
by Lilies4Lilith
Summary: As a tomboy, Natsuki has a natural indifference to dolls, so what is she supposed to do when she gets one for her eighth birthday? Or worse, what is she supposed to do when it suddenly comes to life? AU Shiznat
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that belong to Sunrise.

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"This is stupid," the girl grumbled looking defiantly at her reflection. In it, the same dark blue haired girl with piercing jade eyes glared back at her.

"Now, now, Natsuki, don't you want to look pretty for your birthday?" questioned her mother who was busy attending at her daughter's hair. The older woman counted the seconds before finally unrolling the metal rod from her daughter's hair. The resulting product was a well made curl which spiraled down the girls' back.

"No," the little girl replied with even more distaste as she crossed her arms akimbo. She hated it all. She hated how her mother always wanted her to wear a dress for her birthday. In fact, she could write a list about why she hated it so much. The sleeves were too puffy, the color was _baby _blue, she could barely run in it, but most importantly it was girly.

"It's just for a couple hours, and you know your father thinks you look so beautiful in it," her mother replied pulling a loose strand away from Natsuki's face. She had tied her daughter's navy hair up in a pony tail with her bangs embracing the sides of her face. The hair was curled at the ends, and Natsuki's mother couldn't help but twirl it in her finger and watch it spring back into place.

"Don't do that," Natsuki grunted as she swatted her mom's hand away from her hair. Her mother stood to look proudly at her accomplishment. She had transformed a previously muddy Natsuki into a beautiful little princess. She found herself a bit behind schedule because a certain now-eight-year-old girl had decided to play hide and go seek. When she finally found her daughter, she was horrified to see her playing in the mud and covered in dirt. With only thirty minutes until the party started, Mutsumi Kuga was to clean her daughter and make her presentable to the guests. The doorbell suddenly rang, and Natsuki's mother quickly excused herself to go and welcome the guests.

"Come down in a bit, all your friends will be here," and with a kiss, Natsuki's mother disappeared from the room to play hostess.

To this, the dark haired scoffed. Today was her eighth birthday, but she knew as well as anyone that she didn't have any friends. The boys and girls that were going to come were nothing but her parent's co-worker's children who had come at her parents' request. It wasn't her fault that the kids at her school couldn't get along with her. Despite her young age, her teachers could already feel the iciness from Natsuki's eyes. She was considered unapproachable and even children knew not to mess with someone that clearly didn't want anything to do with them. Even though Natsuki was born a summer child, the summer's warmth sure did not thaw the girl's glacial exterior.

Natsuki plopped herself on her bed and sighed into the soft pillow. It would be the eighth year that she would celebrate yet another miserable birthday party.

"Might as well get this over with. I hope they give me good presents at least," she said to herself in defeat. Even if she had refused to go downstairs, her parents were going to drag her down eventually anyway. With that, she swung her legs over the bed in an unladylike manner and stomped her way to the main living room. As she made her way downstairs, she made sure to tramp extra loud to let her guests know that she was coming.

As tradition, her parents would hide everyone behind the living room's furniture and as soon as she walked into it they could come out and yell surprise. Thus, after the same thing happening seven times, it no longer became a surprise. When she finally got to the middle, she lifted her hands in the air and announced, "I'm here, but where is everyone?" It was a small role that her parents always expected her to play.

And at the cue, a group of kids popped from their hiding places and yelled "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATSUKI-CHAN." Natsuki feign shock with such obviousness that even the kids were beginning to feel a bit stupid for doing the same thing again. The kids did notice, however, a noticeable twitch from the cobalt haired girl for the use of the –chan honorific. The children swarmed around her, and Natsuki noticed how the number of kids that came this year was fewer than last year's. What was she to expect though, the parents were becoming more reluctant to let their children come to such a cynical girl's party.

"So what do you want to do today, Natsuki-chan?" asked a small, chubby girl who had her hair styled into pigtails. Her button nose and round face made her look like a pig to Natsuki and the pigtails only made it worse.

"How bout we cut off one of your pigtails?" the birthday girl spat and imitated scissors with her fingers. The other girl shrieked and ran to her mother crying. _Stupid._

"You look cute today, Kuga-san," a boy in a black and red tie said. It was Takeda Masahi, a boy in her class that had been trying to get her attention ever since he met her. For some reason the ice princess's cool exterior had captivated his heart. He was taller than her, but a lot weaker. He gave her his best smile hoping that his compliment would make the blue haired girl happy. Unfortunately for him, Natsuki was in no mood to deal with foolish boys and wanted to go outside to play.

"Why don't you shut up?" Natsuki replied coolly before swiftly walking around him to go to her backyard. Takeda was left only shocked at his crush's harsh language.

"She is so cool," he said to himself, "I will one day get her to love me!"

As Natsuki stepped outside, her jaw dropped when she saw other kids playing with _her_ toys. A boy was riding _her_ favorite tricycle, a girl was hopping on _her_ pogo stick, and the others were playing with _her_ toy dinosaurs and _her_ toy motorcycles. Oh, was she going to let them know the meaning of pain. She was sure that they were to NEVER play with _her_ things ever again. But just as she was going to teach them a lesson, her father scooped her up in his arms.

Ryo Kuga was a corporate executive of a well known business in Tokyo. He was successful in his job and was the main reason why the Kuga family was able to live such comfortable lives. He had, like Natsuki, dark blue hair, which was short and nicely styled. He barely had any facial hair, which made his hygiene easy to take care of because he rarely ever needed to shave. His arms were strong and Natsuki always felt secure in them. When she was younger, she loved to swing from those very arms that were holding her. She loved her daddy very much, even more than she loved her mother.

"Hello," Natsuki greeted her father shyly.

"How is my favorite princess today," he said kissing her cheek fondly, "you look beautiful today and you smell wonderful did you just shower?"

"Mom caught me playing in the mud and forced me to shower and wear this stupid dress," she told her father. Her father was actually quite the hygienist, which was why he could distinguish the soap's aroma from his daughter.

"Well you look absolutely beautiful," he said again and kissed her other cheek. Her father was the only boy that she allowed to compliment her. She figured that he was the only one that would say it and probably mean it.

Indeed at such a young age, everyone could tell that Natsuki was going to grow into quite the beauty. She had her mother's good looks, and her father's handsome charm. It was a question though where that cold heartedness came from since both her parents were so well liked.

Ryo put down his daughter and Natsuki ran, as fast she could with the dress's limitations, to her favorite tree. She loved to climb trees, and even though her mother would often scold her saying that it wasn't something girls did, she still did it. Perhaps she did it partly to defy her mother, but at the same time she enjoyed the challenge. Gripping the tree's bark, Natsuki began her climb up not caring that she might tear her new blue dress. It was a bit harder though with the dress because she couldn't get as good a grip on the trunk. When she finally got to the top she sat there watching as the rest of the kids continue playing with her toys. With her index and thumb sticking out, she curled the other fingers of her right hand to form her hand into a "gun." She took aim at the thieves and pretended to shoot imaginary bullets at them. Natsuki laughed at her new found form of amusement and remained in the tree for most of the party.

One of the guests said they had to go and immediately the rest of the other families began to make their excuses to part. Natsuki knew that they just wanted to leave. No one ever liked to play with her anyway. _Good riddance_ she thought to herself and stuck her tongue out at the leaving guests. Her emerald eyes met with the piggy girl's and the chubby girl immediately turned to avoid Natsuki.

The only thing that Natsuki did like was the presents part, and surely enough on the living room table was a pile of presents. She was only allowed to open when the guests left as common courtesy. Her parents knew that she tended to be extremely frank with her opinion of the presents and didn't want the other children and their parents to let their presents be judged. She shredded through her presents in minimal time. A toy motorcycle was the first toy she opened. She held it high in the hair and admired its sleek body and fierce design. She had always been an admirer of the vehicle and commented that it was a good toy. She placed it gently to her right calling it the "good pile." There were other toys that went into the good pile though: a toy car, a new video game, and a helmet that had a howling wolf as its design. Most of the other toys, however, were discarded into the "sucky" pile. They were either considered too girly or pointless to the birthday girl who preferred things that were fast, dangerous, and intense.

"Here's our present for you, Natsuki-chan," her parents said handing her a rather large box. The box was a bit bigger than her and she was excited that the present was going to be just as big as her. Perhaps it was the new motor cross bike that she had seen in commercials. For days she had hinted to her parents that it was the thing she really wanted for her birthday. She didn't like to beg for presents so she tried to tip them subtly. Endless days of suggesting the bike and the size of the box ensured her that it was probably going to be that very thing she wanted most. Giddily, she peeled at the blue and white wrapping paper only to find that the toy was not what she wanted but…

"A doll?" she said half disappointed and half disgusted. There in the box was a doll just as big as she was, maybe a little taller, and stared back at her. The doll had a well shaped, porcelain face, which made her pale skin look flawless. She had ruby eyes that sent an eerie feeling throughout Natsuki's body. It did not seem natural to her. The doll's hair was only a bit past her shoulders, but it was well made and looked soft to touch. It was a doll that Natsuki had never seen, not that she was well acquainted with the different kinds there were. She had to admit though that it was very well made and if she were any other girl she would have found it relatively pretty. The doll smiled gently at her and Natsuki felt as though she wanted to puke.

"You got me a doll?" the box slipped from her fingers and thumped onto the floor. She turned to her parents in utter confusion, hoping that she'd get an explanation. _I hinted at that motorbike for weeks. I even asked you to get it for me. How could you get me A DOLL? _The words screamed throughout her head. She couldn't understand. Her parents had always given her great presents before, so why was this year any different. It was her eighth birthday; didn't that mean to get her something even better because a decade of her life has passed? They knew well that she hated dolls, so why did they do this? She felt a bit betrayed and even more so let down.

"Oh, Natsuki, she's not that bad. You didn't even give her a chance," her mother said opening the box to take out the girl doll. When she did, Natsuki shuddered as she swore that the doll's smile changed to a more bewitching one. _She's demonic_ Natsuki convinced herself and the fact that the doll looked so human did not help.

"It was the only one left in the store, the owner said that you would love it," her father said trying to make the best out of the situation.

"He said that even girls like you would come to love the doll," her mother further explained. _So that was it_, Natsuki thought, _they thought I was too tomboyish so they are giving me this doll to make me more girly._

"Well too bad because I don't want it!" Natsuki shouted at her parents and ran upstairs into her room. She slammed the door as hard as she could to indicate her anger. _I've had some bad birthday parties, but this is the worst! Not even mayo cake would make up for this!_ And even though they knocked on the door to tell her it was time to eat the cake, Natsuki refused to come out. Mayonnaise cake was another thing that she loved most about her birthday. Her mother only made it three times a year, so it was considered extremely special. It was too gross for the other kids to eat and after years of hearing "eww that's gross" and "how could you eat that," she decided that she would eat it by herself after everyone left. It would always be eaten at 8:15 because that was her birthday. But not today. Today, she stayed in her room holding onto her favorite dog plush that her parents had given her on her fifth birthday.

"See Duran, you were a good present. That's why you stay with me," She told the dog whose eyes seemed to sympathize with its master. She embraced the dog plush even harder and with nothing better to do, she fell asleep.

"Natsuki-chan," a voice whispered.

Wearily, Natsuki lifted her eyelids and looked around the room. The room was black as was the sky, which made it hard to distinguish the source. When her eyes adjusted a bit better she still couldn't find who had called her name.

"Natsuki-chan," the voice repeated and she realized that it was a lot closer than she thought. In fact, it was as though someone was speaking right next to her. That was impossible though because no one was in the room except her because it was clear that her parents were not in the room. Slowly, she turned her head in the direction and saw another girl with glinting red eyes smiling at her.

"Hi," the girl whispered happy that she was finally able to get the cobalt haired girl's attention.

It was the only time her parents ever heard their daughter scream.

Author's note: Actually, talking dolls scare me... oh well! Hope you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Same as before, and for the rest of this story.

Chapter 2:

"Natsuki, Natsuki, what's wrong?" her parents had stormed in as soon as they heard their daughter's scream. It was very unlikely their daughter would ever scream so the only time she did, something horrible must have happened.

"T-the doll – " she heard herself stutter and mentally slapped herself for the show of weakness. However, this had to be some sort of exception because a doll had magically crawled next to her in bed and spoke to her.

"Oh, I put her there when you were sleeping," said Natsuki's mother who felt relieved that that was the only cause of the scream. Well that answered one question for Natsuki, but there was still the talking.

"She spoke! She said my name and in a really funny accent too! I swear I heard it!" Natsuki said anxiously, trying her best to convince her parents. Who was going to believe her though? Natsuki had to admit she did sound a bet farfetched.

"Honey, I'm sure you were just dreaming. See? She's just a doll," her father had a tiresome quality to his voice. He lifted the doll in front of Natsuki to prove that she was indeed an inanimate, non-speaking object. Natsuki held Duran closer to her chest and took a good inspection of the doll. It was exactly the same as she saw it earlier. _What time is it?_ Natsuki wondered and saw that the flashing numbers on her alarm clock. _2:49 AM, maybe I was dreaming._

"Oh, I guess it was just a nightmare…" the eight-year-old's voice softened. It seemed pretty reasonable though. It was like an equation, a bad birthday followed by a disappointing gift resulting in a horrible dream. She took another glance at the porcelain doll and after seeing another strange glint in those crimson eyes, she pushed the doll out of her father's hands and watched it fall to the floor.

"Natsuki!" her mother bemoaned as she picked up the abused doll. The way her mother held her present and just the lifelikeness of the doll looked as though Mutsumi was holding another child. "Must you always act so rough?" There were times when Mutsum wished that her daughter was more docile.

"She's creepy; I don't want her next to me. It's because of her that I got a nightmare," Natsuki argued with her arms crossed. She was actually trying to persuade her father more than her mother; _he would understand_. The older woman sighed in defeat and looked to her husband for an answer. It was a silent language that Natsuki eventually become fluent in. The sigh and look from her mother was code for "I can't do anything, it's your turn." And now, the youngest Kuga turned to her father to see his response.

"Well," he scratched at his scalp, "I suppose if Natsuki doesn't want to sleep with it, we can't force her right?"

Natsuki beamed at her father with pride; her father always sided with her. The answer didn't please her mother though who originally bought the doll in hopes of making her daughter more feminine. However, with two Kugas against one, she was the loser and accepted defeat. Still carrying the doll in her arms she walked to a nearby sofa where a neglected stuff bear sat.

"Is it alright if I put her here?" her mother asked with straining patience.

"Fine, as long as I don't see her face. I don't like being stared at," Natsuki answered while her father tucked her into her wolf pattern blankets. Her mother rolled her eyes and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Natsuki's father followed suit and the two dimmed the lights of the room. They stood by the door to wish one final goodnight before finally closing the door and leaving the younger girl by herself again.

A sense of tranquility fell over the room, and Natsuki took a survey of her room before finally feeling drowsiness begin to take over. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and once again she found herself whisked away to dreamland.

_The wind against her body filled her with a delightful sense of exhilaration. Leaning a bit closer to the body of the motorcycle, she twisted the handle to go even faster. The road seemed to stretch forever, but that was alright for her. She felt freer than ever and though the helmet restricted the feeling of the wind against her face, she knew that the winds too were embracing her, offering itself to her. A curve was coming up and she carefully leaned the bike to a side as to make a perfect turn. Just when she got around the curve, she took a quick peek at the speedometer – just to see how fast she was going. _

"_Ara, Natsuki-chan drools in her sleep," came a familiar voice, and Natsuki whipped her head to find the source. Right in the middle of the street was her doll, except it wasn't how she remembered it. The celluloid seemed to have melted away turning into pale human flesh. Her chestnut hair looked silkier than ever, and those red painted eyes turned into human irises that encircled a small black pupil. The ruby eyes, however, disappeared as the doll gave her a warm smile. Natsuki made a sudden swerve as to avoid hitting the doll. She felt herself losing control of the bike and crashed to the floor. Her motorcycle lay injured beside her, its frontal wheel still rolling. There was a loud bleeping sound and Natsuki thought perhaps the ambulance had come to her rescue. _

Natsuki's eyes opened slowly as the morning's light poured into her room causing her to squint. The din of her alarm clock indicated that it was her unfortunate time to wake up. Turning to her nightstand, she slammed her hand against the top of the screaming instrument until finally the room was at peace again. Unwilling to wake up yet, she collapsed onto her pillow again and tried to get a few more minutes of sleep before her mom came in.

There was movement on her bed, and Natsuki had a peculiar feeling that someone was watching her. Her eyelids lifted quickly and there was the girl with red eyes staring at her. The strange girl was sitting by her with her legs tucked neatly beneath her bottom, leaning forward with her arms to stable herself. Because it was morning though, it took a Natsuki a little longer to process what was happening. When it finally clicked, the cobalt haired girl let out a slight "Ah" and pushed the girl away from her. The tan haired girl was caught off guard and once again met the hard surface of the carpeted floor with a small thump. Natsuki sat up and peered at the edge of the bed, curious to see if anything would happen next.

"Mou, Natsuki-chan, why do you keep pushing me off the bed?" asked the red eyed girl who was trying to climb back onto the bed. Natsuki took this moment to observe the girl. She looked exactly like the doll that she had gotten on her birthday: the light brown hair color, the still creepy red colored voids, the pallid skin tone, and of course the retained beauties of the doll. It was as though her doll became a human, and it was like the same girl from her dream.

Natsuki was confused, very confused indeed. Red collided with green, and feeling uncomfortable with the awkward silence, Natsuki decided to break the silence.

"What are doing?" she questioned, she didn't know what else to say.

"I was sleeping, but Natsuki-chan's snoring woke me up. So I went on your bed to watch you sleep. You look so cute when your sleeping, Natsuki-chan, though the scowl on your face is quite adorable as well," the red eyed girl chuckled lightly to herself as she noticed an irritated twitch from her owner.

_I don't snore…_ Natsuki thought to herself, angry that the strange girl made such a stupid accusation. Now that she thought about it, she had a strange feeling that the other girl had probably said the drooling thing aloud too.

"I mean, how are you talking?" she tried again. In the light, the red eyed girl didn't seem as scary. In fact, she seemed kind of pretty. Natsuki was beginning to feel a bit silly for her outburst from yesterday, but she was still a bit dumbfounded.

"The same way you are?" the brunette answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. She composed herself and sat this time at the edge of the bed with her legs dangling off the side. This way, if the violent girl decided to push her again, she could balance herself and wouldn't fall on the floor for the third time.

Natsuki nodded to herself, she scooted herself closer to the other girl and pinched the well-shaped nose.

"Ow," the brunette replied in shock. She covered her nose and wondered why her owner kept abusing her.

"Oh, you can feel that?" Natsuki said with a hint of disappointment. There goes her plans of torturing what she thought was an invincible girl. She figured that perhaps that she might pull off the girl's arm and nothing would have happened, kind of like a Barbie.

"Of course, I'm not dead!" The brunette was appalled. Was it not obvious to the blue haired girl that she was a normal, human girl like her?

"No, but you're a doll…" Natsuki retaliated.

To this the sand colored hair girl sighed and grabbed at Natsuki's wrist. Although Natsuki tried to resist, she was surprised that the other was a lot stronger than she had imagined. After all, the girl just screamed "delicate, girly girl." The girl's touch was surely warm like a human's. There was no synthetic texture to the girl's flawless skin; in fact, it felt soft. The strange one placed Natsuki's resisting fist at her heart.

"You can feel my heart right?" And though Natsuki's hand was curled into a fist she could the very faint pulsing of a heart.

"Then how…" but before she could ask her question, the red eyed girl covered Natsuki's mouth with her free hand as though to keep her from telling a deadly secret. It was then that Natsuki realized that she was actually conversing with another being, or should she call it her doll? There was no iciness in her voice, and for the first time Natsuki was surprised that another girl wasn't scared of her. Had she gone sentimental? Or perhaps this was just another dream. That was it! This had to be a dream! There is no way that a doll can suddenly become a human, so she must be sleeping. Natsuki sighed in relief and turned away from the girl to settle back down into the comfort of her blankets.

"Natsuki-chan? Why are you sleeping, aren't you supposed to get up?" Again with the annoying accent and the annoying –chan. Why was this girl in her dreams anyway?

"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, you are nothing but a weirdo in my dreams," Natsuki repeated as though it were a mantra.

"Ara, how sweet for Natsuki-chan to be dreaming of me then," the other girl teased.

"Dreaming of you? More like a NIGHTMARE! It's because of you that my parents think I'm probably crazy now. Dreaming of you, if I were to ever have a dream with you it would be becase I was killing you," the blue haired girl spat her venomous words at the poor girl. Feeling hurt by her owner's words, the pallid girl walked back to her lonely couch with the abandoned teddy bear. And within a blink of an eye, she changed back into the doll that everyone remembers her as.

In a matter of seconds, Natsuki's mother swung the door open only to be shocked that her daughter was still sleeping.

"Natsuki! Natsuki! Wake up! I don't believe it, do you have any idea what time it is? Wake up!" her mother groused as she stripped Natsuki of her blankets. Unlike most mothers, Mutsumi did not believe in servile mothers that would do everything for their children. No, Mutsumi was sure that her daughter would, by the age of ten, learn to be independent and responsible.

Natsuki groaned at her mother's commands, and groaned even more when her mother kept shaking her. If anything annoyed her more than creepy talking dolls, it would be her mom shaking her to get her to wake up. Natsuki surrendered to her mother's commands, and reluctantly got up to get ready in the bathroom. She realized that she was wearing her pajamas and not the baby blue dress that she wore on her birthday. Perhaps when her mother also brought in the weird doll, she had conveniently changed her daughter to more comfortable clothing.

Even though it was only one day after her birthday, Natsuki was reminded that she still had the misfortune of going to cram school. Now, it wasn't that she was dumb or anything, more the opposite. Intelligent in most subjects, Natsuki's mother had pushed her daughter until she excelled as top of her class. However, there was still a slight issue with math. She had a bit of trouble with multiplying and dividing three digit numbers together, which for a third grader was reasonable. One digit numbers were alright, and two digits were okay, but if it was the three digits or more that gave her trouble. And it was because of this reason that Mutsumi sent her daughter to cram school until she could master the concept.

After completing her daily morning routine, she went to her closet to choose today's outfit. Just as she was going to remove her PJs though, she took one glance at her doll whose face was still staring outside her room's balcony. Feeling safe from any peering eyes, human or not, she peeled her clothes and switched into today's outfit. Once done, she took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. Today, she wore a dark blue shirt with an attached hoodie and some jeans. Confident with her choice of clothing, she grabbed her backpack and made sure that all her papers were inside. Looping her arm through the backpack's straps, she tugged on the adjustment strings until the backpack was secured to her back. Before leaving the room, however, she took one last look at the doll – just to make sure that it was still a doll. With that, she left her room and went off to her class.

"Natsuki, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea what time it is?" her mother complained behind the wheel. She driving a lot faster than she usually did, but it was probably because they were already fifteen minutes late. Mutsumi Kuga had a thing for punctuality, and absolutely loathed being late.

"I don't know," the younger Kuga nonchalantly replied. It wasn't like the world was suddenly going to end if she was late just this once. Sometimes her mom's need for perfectionism bothered her.

"Well next time, think before you decide doing this again. You're teacher is probably waiting for you," she took a quick glance at her car's clock and hissed as another minute passed by. She pressed against the gas petal harder, and Natsuki could feel the slight acceleration her mom applied.

Though the trip to her tutoring area took usually around thirty minutes, today they arrived in only twenty. Natsuki was surprised that no police came to pull her mom over. Opening the car door, she slipped out and said good bye to her mother. Sighing to herself, Natsuki walked up to the ashen establishment and prepared herself for another three hour session. She was lucky that it was August though, which meant that she'd only have to be here for a couple more days before school started again.

She let herself in, and the smell of coffee filled her nostrils. Surely enough, every single teacher she saw had a cup of the bitter liquid; she didn't see why adults like it so much.

"Oh, Kuga-san, you're here. Sakomizu-sensei is at the usual spot," said the front desk secretary. She wasn't that good looking, but she was nice. Natsuki was often a bit kinder to the lady because she was one of the few that didn't call her by her first name or with the cutesy honorific. Natsuki nodded to the secretary and proceeded to go to her little study area.

"Down the hall, and to the right. Don't go too far though or else you'll miss it." These were the words that they told her when she first arrived. It was a little something that she reminded herself everyday because she hated to ask more than once for directions.

When finally arriving she found her tutor slouched on the table snoozing. Kaiji Sakomizu was not your typical adult. Natsuki often thought of him as a man stuck in his teenage years. He had unruly brown curly hair and wore unfashionable small spectacles that contrasted with his large nose. Natsuki thought that if he were to let his hair continue growing it would surely end up like an afro. He was rather large overall probably because he liked to eat so much. And as though to prove the eight-year-old's claim there by his sleeping body was a breakfast hamburger and a cup of coffee. She smirked at her exhausted teacher and decided to slam her backpack on the desk to wake him.

_BAM!_

"Wah? N-Natsuki-san, you're here," he said fixing his glasses. He stifled a yawn before stretching his arms to better wake himself up.

"If I have to wake up to come here, you can bet that I'm not going to let you sleep," she said smugly as she took out her material for today's lesson.

He gave one last stretch and took one more bite from the hamburger before agreeing and starting the session.

"And you put this number here," Sakomizu lectured using his pencil as a pointer for the problem. "And then you add up these numbers together, and you should get the answer… 224360."

At this point, Natsuki wanted to shred up her paper. She was ten minutes away from class ending, but she was still having trouble with big numbers. _Why can't I just use a calculator?_ She wondered, _that's what they're made for. _She took another look at her problem and found herself stuck. She knew that for three digits you had to multiply the top row to the bottom row. Starting from the most right number first, or was it the left? Or was it that you had to multiply them in their respective columns like addition? She emitted a low growl in frustration, and Sakomizu offered his advice again.

"Shut up, let me do it," she angrily shouted. It wasn't that she didn't want to know how to do it; it was just that she didn't like to ask for help. However, as seconds turned into minutes, she found herself giving up and turned to her tutor for help.

"No need to be so upset about it – "

"I'm not," she interrupted, but the tint of spite in her voice told Sakomizu something different. He looked to the clock hanging against the insipid walls and realized that their session was nearly over. He handed her a piece of paper that he did while she was working on the problem that explained the steps of how to do that very problem. She snatched it from his hands and scanned it quickly to see just what she did wrong. Noticing her error, she quickly went back to the problem and finished it with ease.

"See I did it!" she said holding up the paper that had the identical answer as to the answer sheet. There was a slight smile on her face and Sakomizu knew that his student felt proud in her accomplishments. He congratulated her, and then gave her a hundred problems to do for homework. The smile disappeared and became the scowl that Sakomizu had grown to associate Natsuki with. She waved goodbye and climbed into her mom's car and began the journey home.

Once entering her home, the first thing Natsuki usually does is to see if her father is home. The times that he is, she will greet him with mild satisfaction and tell him about her day. Today, however, was not one of those days and so she went back upstairs to start on her homework.

Just as her hand reached the knob, she realized that there was a weak light emitting from the bottom of her door. Suspicious about the reason why her light was turned on, she cautiously opened the door. And there again was the strange girl sitting on _her_ bed and reading one of _her_ books.

"Welcome home," the girl greeted as she put a small bookmark between her pages and closed the book. It was one of Natsuki's books on Japanese folklore. Natsuki stood confounded, her eyes as wide as saucers. Figuring that Natsuki wasn't going to move, the girl got off the bed and pulled her in, closing the room's door behind them quietly.

"Why are you speaking again? I thought… I thought I woke up already," Natsuki questioned. She already woke up right? This couldn't be an everlasting dream. No way. So then, why was the doll moving and talking again?

"Ara, didn't I tell you that I wasn't dead?" the girl said to Natsuki. For the first time, the two were standing directly in front of each other, and to the blue haired girl's annoyance, the other girl was taller than her. From what Natsuki could tell, the other girl was thin, but the dress she wore concealed most of Natsuki's view of the taller girl's body. It was a dark crimson dress that was identical to Natsuki's own baby blue one. However, while the blue dress made her look silly, the scarlet quality emphasized the taller girl's elegance.

"Natsuki-chan is staring at me; does she think that I am pretty?" And though Natsuki's flushed a certain shade of red, it was not because of anger, but because of embarrassment. _I just blushed, what is happening to me_.

Natsuki cleared her throat and avoided the girl and the question. She quickly pinched her own cheek just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The pain she felt confirmed that she was indeed not dreaming. _So, if I'm not dreaming, then I must be crazy. Either that or the doll is under some magical spell and is alive. Great…Duran, Duran?_ She scanned her bed, but the petite dog plush was no where to be found. She looked frantically around her room and finally found her beloved in the arms of the strange girl.

"Give him back!" she commanded, her voice gave the warning "give it to me, or die."

"No, you've been mean to me. Besides, Shin-chan likes me more," the taller girl declined with a light "hmph."

"Shin-chan? SHIN-CHAN? His name is Duran! Give him back!" and with that the blue haired girl lunged at the chestnut haired girl, who took only a couple steps back to avoid the attack. Natsuki collided to the floor, something the other girl must have been familiar with by now, and glared furiously at the other girl.

"How about you talk to me civilly like a human being and I return Shin-chan to you," the other girl proposed.

"Never!" and once again the blue haired girl attempted to seize the hostage from the hands of the villain. Eventually, the pursuit turned into a game of cat and mouse, and Natsuki realized that the other girl was a lot more slippery than she gave her credit for. The taller girl seemed to be having fun though, and even Natsuki was beginning to show enjoyment in the chase.

"Natsuki! Stop stomping around, you're causing a ruckus," she heard her mother demand from downstairs. Immediately, Natsuki stopped hounding the girl and fell to the floor tired; the other girl sat beside her and folded her legs in as a lady would when wearing a dress. Between panting and trying to catch her breath, Natsuki took a look at her supernatural birthday present and asked wearily, "So, do you have a name?"

"Shizuru. Fujino Shizuru," the other girl replied with a terrific grin.

Author's Note: Wow, thanks to all the people who've read this. Seeing people's interest in the story makes me happy, and I hope I can keep you guys interested until the very end. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will include more interaction between the two in the next chapter. By the way, I didn't realize that Shizuru seemed like Chucky until someone said so(I never watched the movie), but that's pretty funny.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Shizuru and Natsuki don't belong to me.

* * *

Chapter 3: 

"Fujino Shizuru…" Natsuki tested the name. She was surprised at the ease of saying the name, which rolled nicely off her tongue. It was a nice name, she concluded. Not quite as nice as her own, but still nice.

"Ara, and here I thought you were going to name me, but since you asked so nicely, I accidentally said it aloud," the red eyed girl chuckled to herself. Natsuki's brief kindness meant that the girl could talk civilly to her after all. Shizuru took the moment to catch her breath; she hadn't run in a long time. The dog plush remained snuggled in Shizuru's arms, and with its black beads peered curiously at two girls.

"…" There was that twitch again, and from that moment Shizuru realized that she liked making the cobalt girl twitch.

"Ne, what would you have named me? Princess? Cutie? I'm curious, tell me," Shizuru couldn't help but tease the other girl.

Although Natsuki was fighting a losing battle, she knew that saying a comeback was probably only going to make the chestnut haired girl tease her even more. The other girl's constant laughing, however, made it very hard for Natsuki to ignore those words. Oh, she would find a way to get that chestnut haired, red eyed, creepy doll to shut her mouth.

"How old are you?" Natsuki asked, changing the subject in hopes of stopping the doll's laughter.

"Eight," the doll replied with a small smirk, "but I'll be nine in December."

_She's older than me?_ Natsuki thought to herself somewhat surprised and somewhat annoyed. By being older, Shizuru was probably going to ask her to be "respectful toward her elders." No way was she going to submit herself to the will of some supernatural freak.

"You have a funny accent," the blue haired insulted bluntly. It was true though; never in her life had she heard such a weird pronunciation. Perhaps the girl usually spoke in another dialect? Natsuki always did forget that there were variations of speech in Japan. Wait, what was she thinking? How would a doll know how to speak in the first place?

"Well, to me, you have a pretty funny accent too," Shizuru retaliated, which broke Natsuki from her trance. Yet, it was so hard for Natsuki to believe that the person before her was really a doll. Whenever she looked at the older girl, or whenever she touched her, Shizuru seemed human, in fact, just as human as herself.

"So…" Natsuki wasn't really sure how to ask the question, "How do you come to life? Aren't you a doll?" She had to know.

Shizuru avoided the bright emerald orbs and embraced Duran even tighter. The question clearly disquieted the red eyed girl. Taking a deep breath, she weighed the ways she could tell her owner. If she spoke too gravely, Shizuru might ruin her chance of being the blue haired girl's friend. Thus, with an artificial smile and an imitated teasing tone, Shizuru explained, "If I tell Natsuki-chan, then I'll disappear forever."

"Okay, so tell me," Natsuki said unfazed by the doll's warning. Despite their short encounter, Natsuki could tell there something different about the way Shizuru just spoke. The smile was unnatural as though the older girl had put on a mask to cover her feelings. Compared to the previous smiles that Shizuru had demonstrated, this one displayed no sign of genuine happiness. It was the same with the voice; Natsuki could tell that the other girl was trying to hide something – something Natsuki desperately wanted to know. The blue haired girl didn't care for the doll anyway, so why did she feel a pang of regret from the words she had just spoken?

Not long before Shizuru could reply, Mutsumi shouted for her daughter to go downstairs and eat dinner. Figuring that it would be a good time to take a break from the intense conversation, Natsuki excused herself and fled from the room.

Sighing to herself, Shizuru pulled herself up and returned to the comfort of Natsuki's bed. With the doll still in her arms, she found a snug position and began to read the folktale book again. She, too, thought it was good timing for her owner to eat her dinner. During this hiatus, she would take the time to brush away Natsuki's inconsideration and take the moment to relax.

Natsuki ran as fast as she could down the stairs and popped into the kitchen to see if her father had arrived. To her surprise, he was still not here. _Odd, Dad is always home for dinner, where is he now?_ She wondered to herself.

"Natsuki, help set the table," her mother instructed as she poured small, diced pieces of beef onto a beautifully decorated red plate. Natsuki's mother had a thing for placing foods on plates of their respective colors. Red meats would be on red plates, green vegetables on green, everything had to be organized according to their color.

Going to the cabinet, Natsuki wondered how many plates she was supposed to bring out. Her father wasn't home, but the amount of food her mother cooked would suggest otherwise. Perhaps he was just late, working on some important, top-secret business. Yes, that was it, and so the youngest Kuga brought out a third plate for her father. She placed the plates in their according seats. It was a four-seated table, and Natsuki always took the side closest to the living room, so when she was done she could go watch cartoons. Her father sat directly in front of her and her mother would be on her left.

"Good girl," Mutsumi said as she bent down to give her daughter an appreciative kiss. And just as soon as those lips parted, Natsuki whipped at her face with her sleeve.

Untying her apron and tossing it on the counter, Mutsumi grabbed the last dish for the evening and placed it upon the dinning table. The two female Kugas sat in their respective spots, and began their meal.

"Where's daddy?" Natsuki inquired looking at her mother with her mouth stuffed with beef.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, honey," her mother reproached, "and your father said he would be working late. He'll come home a little later." Natsuki gulped the chunk of meat down her throat while nodding to acknowledge her mother's words.

"Do you still have the box of the doll?" the blue haired girl asked opening her mouth wider than usual to show her mom that there were extra contents in it.

"Why do you ask?" her mother asked with a mixture of delight and surprise. Did Natsuki like the present after all? Mutsumi secretly hoped that the reason Natsuki asked was because she knew there were alternate outfits in the package and wanted to play dress up. _Wouldn't that be delightful, the owner was right about buying the doll!_

"No reason, just wanted to see its decoration, that's all," she made up at the top of her head. Her mom tried her best to hold her laughter. _Natsuki is so cute; she's so shy about wanting to see those other outfits. Maybe next she'll ask me to buy her matching outfits, _Mutsumi thought to herself. Her daughter was finally going to transform into the beautiful little princess she knew Natsuki was.

"It's in the living room near the fireplace, you can go get it after you finish eating," her mother announced. The rest of the dinner was silent with the exception of light clanging of the utensils against the plates and chewing. As soon as Natsuki finished she put her dishes in her sink, her mother would have told her to do so if she didn't, and ran into the living room. And surely enough just as her mother told her, the box of Fujino Shizuru lay sitting by the fireplace. It was laid horizontally, so just by standing Natsuki could see the extra pieces of clothing behind the transparent plastic. Bending down to pick up the box, she looked around for a possible company.

"Made in Kyoto," she read aloud after seeing where the toy was created. That would explain the odd accent; the girl was born in the traditional city of the Kansai region. And yet the girl knew how to speak somewhat fluently in Tokyo dialect, _perhaps she learnt it in creepy doll-talking school, _Natsuki mused. At the upper right corner in large, golden, bold words was the name of the toy company.

"Enchanted Toys and company," Natsuki read to herself. _Enchanted toys? _Oh hers was enchanted all right. With the up most care, she flipped over the box to read the toy's description on the back.

"Fujino Shizuru is one of the ten unique dolls of our company. There is only one copy of each doll in the entire world, which makes it even more special. Rare and beautiful, this doll is sure to give you an enchanting adventure. Not for ages 4 and under," Natsuki raised an eyebrow at Shizuru's synopsis. There wasn't too much background information, and while the box did mention an "enchanting adventure," Natsuki was sure they didn't mean one like this. She looked inside the box just in case there was some kind of instruction on turning off Shizuru's coming to life.

The front door closed soundly and Kuga Ryo let out an exhausted sigh. Throwing his brief case carelessly on a nearby sofa, he shrugged off his navy jacket and took off his polished black shoes.

"You're late," Mutsumi declared, her eyes practically glaring at her husband. Punctuality, punctuality, punctuality.

"I'm sorry I – "he tried leaning in to kiss his wife, but was stopped by a raised hand. She turned her back on him and coldly said, "Don't even explain, I don't want to know."

With nothing to say, Ryo followed his wife into the kitchen where a lone plate and a set of utensils sat waiting for him. He took his seat and began eating his dinner while his wife washed the dirty plates.

"Where's Natsuki-chan?" he asked; he deserved to know this at least.

"In the living room, she's looking at the doll's other dresses. I told you that buying the doll was a good idea. You've been spoiling her too much with those motorcycles and dinosaurs. She's not a _boy_," and she stressed the last sentence with extra distaste.

Ryo didn't have anything to say, and after wolfing down his dinner, he got up and went to find his daughter.

"Natsuki," he said taking her into his arms and raising her into the air. He twirled her in the air, an action that Natsuki loved as a child, and then set her back onto the floor. The blue haired girl looked at her father with glee, and welcomed him back home.

"Daddy, where were you? You didn't eat dinner with us today," she whined with a small pout. Dinner was one of her favorite times of the day because she rarely got to converse with her father otherwise. He kissed her cheek, and unlike with her mother, Natsuki accepted the affectionate gesture.

"I'm sorry, honey, I had to work extra today."

"Top secret missions?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with wonder. He chuckled at this and ruffled his daughter's hair.

"So what are you doing? Mom tells me that you want to play dress-up with your doll," the information had amused him. Was it really possible for his daughter to suddenly love dolls after receiving the doll just yesterday?

"NO!" she refuted. Not wanting to get her mother's hopes of making her girly, Natsuki backed away from the box. It didn't give her the information she wanted anyway. "I was just looking for something."

"I see. I knew it was a bit weird for you to suddenly want to play dress-up," he gave her another kiss and excused himself into his office.

Suddenly, Natsuki realized that she had a bunch of her math homework to do, and ran to go back into her room. Halfway through the stairs, however, a sudden thought entered her mind. Was Shizuru hungry? Does Shizuru even need to eat? Even though Natsuki could be a cold-hearted meanie, she knew to be hospitable to guests. It was another lesson that her mother had ingrained into her brain. Going back down, she returned to her mother's area of dominance and took a peek in the refrigerator.

She wasn't sure what the doll would like, but there was still a whole mayonnaise cake to be eaten. Taking the whole thing and two forks, she carried it with extreme care back into her room. The cake wasn't too big, after all it was made for one person, so she didn't bother asking her mom to help cut it. It would be perfect as dessert.

Opening the door to her room, she took a peer in just to see what the doll was doing. And just like before, there was the doll again reading her Japanese folktale book with Duran nestled on her lap.

"Fujino-san, I brought some cake," she said in a gentler tone. She still felt a bit guilty about her earlier show of thoughtlessness. It was odd though, usually she wouldn't even care if she made other kids sad. Perhaps it was because Natsuki thought if she acted nicely, the doll would tell her the big mystery.

"Ara, that is kind of Natsuki-chan; although, I don't need to eat," Shizuru replied with her eyes still glued to the pages of the book. _Is that book so interesting that she'd rather pay attention to it than to me? And again with the Natsuki-chan._ Natsuki just realized that she had allowed her doll for sometime to call her with the cutesy honorific. Not to mention that, but the doll also used her first name! What nerve! The girl didn't even know her, what gave her the right to call her by her first name.

"Don't call me Natsuki-chan," the blue haired girl growled.

"Ah? Natsuki then," the girl easily came up with a substitute, an even more intimate way of calling her owner. Natsuki twitched for what seemed to be the hundredth time today. The older girl had once again outsmarted her. Grumbling angrily to herself, Natsuki placed her cake on her working table, and then dragged her backpack over so that she could begin her work just as her father was doing. She brought out her one hundred problems of three to four digit multiplication and division and mentally cursed at the fat, curly-haired tutor.

389 times 273. She had learned to do these problems earlier, and of course she'd remember how to do them right? Wrong. She rammed her fork into the cake and greedily took a bite of the white moist cake. Shizuru raised her eyes from the novel and moved them to the girl that seemed to be trying to stab her cake to death. Quietly, she removed herself from her new favorite reading area to spy on Natsuki. Peering over the blue haired girl's shoulder, she could see a bunch of cross outs and x's on the paper.

"No, not like this," and in her frustration, Natsuki crumbled the paper and threw it behind her shoulder, nearly hitting Shizuru with the ball of paper. Natsuki took a new sheet of line paper and began to work on the problem, only to run into the same conclusion. She groaned in irritation again and crumbled the paper and threw it behind her. Shizuru was going to become an excellent dodger with all these incoming projectiles targeting her.

Natsuki started mumbling to herself again and every now and then would take another vicious bite from her cake. Feeling a bit sorry for Natsuki, Shizuru decided that she would intervene and help out her frustrated owner. So, when Natsuki started on the problem again, Shizuru reached down and took Natsuki's hand into hers before the blue haired girl made an error.

"You don't put the second of digits here, but here," Shizuru lectured with her hand holding the younger girl's. She led their hands to the number's correct placement and proceeded to write out the numbers.

_Wow, she's really smart. She can multiply numbers in her head too! _Natsuki looked to her doll in amazement. Eventually, Shizuru finished the problem and when her eyes met with curious jade ones, she gave the blue haired girl a happy smile.

"And that's the answer," she said circling the answer and stepping back so Natsuki could try another problem.

"Woah, Fujino-san, how did you – I didn't know you knew how to do math!" Natsuki stared at her with wide eyes.

"Well I did lear – " but the chestnut haired girl already cut herself off. She held her pale hand against strawberry lips as though to prevent herself from revealing further information.

"What?" Natsuki asked hoping that she could pry something out of the other girl.

"If you need help, I can help you," Shizuru offered. Perhaps, this would be a good way to get Natsuki to trust her.

"Can you just do it for me?" Natsuki suggested in return with a big smile. She wasn't going to beg though. No matter how much she hated doing homework, she would never beg. Begging was for weaklings.

"Ara, I guess Natsuki doesn't want me to help her, I'll just go back and – "

"Wait! Okay, help me, I still get a little confused about multiplication," Natsuki admitted softly. She absolutely abhorred revealing her weaknesses even if it was something as trivial as math. Shizuru's answer was a mere warm smile and together the two girls worked on the problems. It took a while, but Shizuru's explanations were a lot more helpful than curly hair's and Natsuki could now finally proudly say she has conquered the concept of big digits multiplication and division.

"Yes!" Natsuki screamed, raising both arms in the air as though she was a victor from a grueling challenge. "Thank you Fujino-san. Please try the cake; I insist it's my favorite."

Surprised by Natsuki's sincerity, Shizuru accepted and grasped the extra fork. Dipping it into the soft texture, she scooped a small amount and noticed a strange, yet familiar scent. Not wanting to disappoint Natsuki, however, she raised the fork to her lips, and entered the substance into her mouth.

It was _disgusting, nasty, gross, horrible, terrible, unpleasant…_It was

"Good," the red eyed girl replied with difficulty. She tried her best to swallow the mayonnaise down her throat, but it seemed as though her stomach wasn't going to allow such a foul matter enter it. Her eyes watered just a bit, and eventually she gulped down her ration. "It is… good, but I think such a delicious food should be left to Natsuki."

The scrunched-up expression on Shizuru's face made Natsuki want to burst out laughing. It was obvious that the older girl was trying her best to say words to please Natsuki. The younger girl had to applaud Shizuru for her bravery though. Few have attempted to eat the morsel, but that might be because Natsuki had told them ahead of time what it was. Even fewer have tried to do something to make the blue haired girl happy. Poor Shizuru… Natsuki ended up laughing aloud.

"You're not bad, Fujino," Natsuki said, not aware that she had subconsciously dropped the –san. Shizuru, however, noticed and smiled that she was considered just a bit closer to the younger girl.

"I'm glad, does this mean Natsuki wants to be my friend?" The cobalt girl had to deliberate about this before responding. Shizuru allowed this silent request, and decided not to push the matter.

Natsuki took a look at Shizuru's clothing, which was still the same elegant scarlet dress. The outfits in the box weren't much better, just more fancy outfits from what Natsuki saw.

"Fujino, I'm going to go shower, do you need to… shower?" She asked slightly confused. The doll didn't need to eat, but she had eaten her cake earlier. And Natsuki knew that Shizuru really ate the cake because no one could feign the look of disgust the older girl had. Does that mean that Shizuru was a real girl? Or perhaps like the box said, she was an enchanted toy that could come to life and act like a real person. The different possibilities were starting to overwhelm the eight-year-old's mind.

"No, don't worry Natsuki I won't smell," the older girl giggled when she saw Natsuki look at her with envy. _The green eyed monster has shown itself in another form, _Shizuru considered.

"Okay, I'm gonna go then, you can continue reading that book if you want to," the younger said pointing at the book on her bed. The bookmark placed between the places indicated that the older girl was already more than halfway done with the thick novel. Shizuru was really quite the impressive doll.

With a pile of clothes in her arms, Natsuki went into the bathroom and with a _click_ locked the door. Shizuru was once again by herself.

"Ara, did Natsuki just give me permission to read her book?" she went back to the bed and picked up the dog plush. Raising it in the air, she pointed its nose downward until it met her lips. As she pecked Duran, she whispered to him, "Look Shin-chan, Natsuki is starting to like me."

* * *

Half submerged beneath water, Natsuki blew raspberries in the water, watching how bubbles formed, escaped, floated to the surface, and disappeared. The water was warm and comforting, especially after today's mental stress. Math, a nagging mom, and a creepy talking doll, an eight-year-old's life could not get more complicated. Still, the water helped her relax and Natsuki often took bath time as a time to think about her life. 

Today, Shizuru was the one that took up most of her thoughts. It would be a lot easier if Shizuru was just a normal doll. All Natsuki had to do was hide her in the back of her closet, and that would be the end of that gift. But this wasn't the case, no, the doll could both talk and move, which created an awful dilemma for Natsuki. She was going to be stuck with the doll for what may seem to be forever. Her parents weren't going to believe that the doll could come to life, unless she could prove it to them! Catch Shizuru in the act of moving and talking, and they'd have to believe her. Then again, Natsuki had to admit that being with Shizuru was also, kind of fun.

Shizuru was the only person that actually fought back in their playful arguments. She was witty and teased Natsuki like no one ever did. The older girl was wise, and though a bit weird, seemed genuine in her wanting to be the younger girl's friend. Natsuki splashed herself with some water; she decided that she'd give Shizuru a chance – even if she is a doll.

* * *

The sound of draining water became evident, and Shizuru eyed the door to watch her owner come out. Right on cue, Natsuki flung the door open and a mist of condensation dissipated into the room. Her blue hair appeared even darker because it was wet. The navy strands clung messily to the side of her head. A towel was draped around her neck, and Shizuru could see that her owner's face was slightly flushed due to the heat from the bath. The younger girl was clad in dark blue PJs, which were similar to the ones that she wore last night. However, rather than little dog patterns, this one had wolves on it. 

While using the towel to dry her hair, Natsuki noticed that Shizuru was now more than three-fourths done with the book.

"Um, do you want to wear something more comfortable to sleep?" Natsuki questioned. She would think of the situation as a sleep over. Shizuru was a real girl, not a doll, and she had been invited for a sleep over. Except rather than only staying for a couple days, the red eyed girl was going to be with her forever. _Oh my god, how am I going to get married? _

"I get to wear Natsuki's cute blue pajamas? Ara, that would be lovely, but for now, I will remain in my current attire."

"If you say so," the younger girl said shrugging her shoulders. She was playing nice wasn't she, or perhaps it was because she was tired. She tended to be a lot nicer when she was sleepy. Climbing onto the bed, she collapsed onto the bedspread with her face buried in her pillows.

"Fujino," Natsuki's words were hard to decipher because her voice was muffled by the pillows, "Do… do you want to play with me tomorrow?"

"Does Natsuki not have class?"

"Only on certain days, tomorrow is not one of them. Since you're going to be stuck with me for the rest of my life, I think we should get to know each other," thankfully, Natsuki had lifted her head so Shizuru didn't have to strain her ears to understand the blue haired girl.

"Natsuki is giving me a chance to be her friend?" the red eyes beamed with happiness.

"Only because you helped me on math today," Natsuki said trying to make her request seem like only one out of respect. You do something for me, I do something for you. But Shizuru knew that that wasn't the real reason. Smiling to herself, she handed Natsuki the hostage she had "kidnapped" for the entire day.

"Duran!" And with eager hands, she reclaimed her plush and embraced her beloved tightly in her arms. She was going to thank Shizuru, until she remembered that the doll was the reason for the stuff animal not being with her in the first place.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow? Tea parties? Dress up?" She had wanted to tease the girl one last time, but it seemed that the blue haired girl was already fast asleep. Shizuru smoothly got out of the bed and pulled a blanket over her owner. Gazing at Natsuki's innocent expression, Shizuru wondered how such a sweet looking girl could act so icy at times. She was determined to break through the ice barriers of Natsuki's heart and introduce the younger girl to the wonders of friendship.

She whispered goodnight and turned off the side lamp. Picking up the novel, she sat by the window, in hopes of using the moon's illumination, to finish the current story she was reading. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Author's note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It seems that everyone wants to know the mystery behind Shizuru, unfortunately, I plan to elaborate that in a later chapter (so says my chapter layout, haha). I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; thanks again for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Same as before. Oh, a very, very minor cuss word is used toward the end.

Chapter 4:

_The light was exceptionally bright, and Natsuki had to shield her eyes from the intruding illumination. There was music in the air, as though someone was humming a nighttime lullaby. It soothed the blue haired girl, who found herself drawn to the serene music. She walked in what seemed like an infinitely white room until finally she saw the outline of a person. The humming became louder and Natsuki stopped before the singing figure. _

_Dressed in a beautiful, white summer dress, the girl halted her melodic voice when she felt jade eyes staring at her. She turned swiftly, and Natsuki marveled as the hem of the dress seemed to dance with the strange girl. _

"_Shizuru?" the blue haired girl questioned, a bit relieved to see a familiar face. The chestnut haired girl gave Natsuki a bittersweet smile and with a desperate voice whispered, "Help me."_

_The voice was fragile, and lured Natsuki to do as the older girl asked. And like a pirate tempted by a siren, Natsuki began to move toward the other girl. As she walked, however, it seemed that Shizuru was only getting farther away. In fear that she would lose sight of the older girl, Natsuki began to run. As fast as her legs could take her, Natsuki realized that the distance between them only increased. In worry, Natsuki shouted out Shizuru's name. The room turned black and she was falling. . ._

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_She was going to die…_

A sharp intake of air could be heard in the room. Natsuki's eyes flashed open and green orbs quickly scanned her surroundings. _It was only a dream_. The blue eyed girl held her hand against her chest as an attempt to slow her racing heart.

"Fujino?" Natsuki asked, wondering what had happened to her friend. Looking to the sofa, where Shizuru could usually be found, Natsuki grew a bit worried when she saw that her doll was not there. Just as she was going to get up, however, she saw the toy sitting by the window. There the doll sat with her red eyes gazing emptily at nothing, or perhaps something? Natsuki half chuckled when she saw her Japanese folktale book leaning against the doll's extended legs.

It was around 9 AM, and Natsuki had the tendency to wake up a bit later when she didn't have class. Call it being lazy or lethargic, but she loved to sleep. Figuring that it'd be a good time to wake up and get the day going, she forced herself awake and climbed out of her bed. Shizuru still hadn't moved – she was just a doll simply resting. It almost, _almost_, made Natsuki think that everything had been a dream.

"Hey are you going to wake up?" the blue haired girl asked while squatting by the beautiful doll. She poked the girl's temple, but received no reaction. The doll's eyes were evidently opened, but where was the talking girl?

"Fine, you go on and sleep, or whatever you're doing. I'm going to go brush my teeth," and with that, the blue haired girl pardoned herself into the restroom. Little did Natsuki know, that at that very moment, painted, glazed ruby eyes softened and transformed into magnificent scarlet irises.

Whilst in the bathroom, Natsuki secretly contemplated what to do with her doll today. She never really played with other kids, especially ones as weird as Shizuru, so what was she going to do? Half panicking and half brushing her teeth, the blue haired girl decided that perhaps the best thing to do was to let the older girl decide. Surely she had some plan. And maybe, she could even reveal the truth about her doll to her mother.

After completing her daily morning routines, she opened the door to her bathroom. Natsuki had come to realize that her bathroom was the only place that she could have privacy from her doll. As soon as the blue haired girl stepped outside her door, a pallid girl popped out of nowhere and yelled "BOO!"

Because Natsuki did not anticipate such a silly action from her elegant roommate, nor was she fully on her guard, the younger girl did a cute little jump in surprise. Her startled expression, however, soon became one of irritation when she saw Shizuru laughing.

"Ara, Natsuki is so adorable! I can't believe I scared you!" Shizuru could barely hold in her laughter, the expression on Natsuki's face was priceless.

"What are you talking about, you didn't scare me. You… just surprised me," the blue haired girl replied, but her argument wasn't very convincing.

Shizuru chuckled at her owners attempt to cover up weakness. "I'm sure, that's why you did that ju –"

"Oh, shut up," the younger girl cut her doll off, so that she could not be remembered of the incident. "Um, hey, what do you want to do today?"

The sudden change of topic, whether it was intentional or not, stopped Shizuru's playful taunt. A bit surprised – Natsuki seems to be full of them these days – by her owner's question, the red eyed girl tilted her head and warmly asked, "What would you like to do?"

"I… don't know. That's why I asked you, duh, how stupid are you?" Natsuki quickly turned around so that the pretty doll couldn't see her. She didn't want the older girl to know that she had limited knowledge when she came to playing with other kids.

"How about we play outside?" Shizuru suggested, "I'd like to go and bask in the sun again."

Again. The word was an accidental slip, but Natsuki caught it. There were times that Natsuki thought that perhaps her doll was really a human, but how could that be possible? She didn't know, and at the moment she really didn't want to take the time to think about it. Figuring that going outside would be the best idea, the blue haired girl nodded and went to her drawers to get a change of clothes.

Outdoors meant shorts and short sleeves, especially with Japan's humidity and heat. Shizuru, however, was still dressed in an elegant scarlet dress. This sort of attire was no kind to be worn when playing outside.

"If we're going to go outside to play, I think you're going to need some other clothes," Natsuki said unsurely. She felt a bit unnatural to be acting so kindly, but for some reason being with Shizuru made it seem almost natural.

It only took Shizuru a couple seconds to deliberate before she eagerly took up the offer.

"Okay, so, do I just give it to you and you can do it yourself? Or – "

"I can dress myself, but if Natsuki would like to dress m – "

"NO!" the blue haired instantly declineds. Fishing out matching light purple shorts and t-shirt, she handed it to the older girl. Natsuki, on the other hand, took out a plain caprice along with a faded blue, short sleeved hoodie.

"I'm going to go change in there," the blue haired girl gestured to the bathroom, "and when I come out you're going to be in your new clothes." Shizuru's light tittering was the only thing Natsuki heard as she headed to the bathroom.

When she finished changing, Natsuki neatly folded her clothes and placed them on top of the counter. Just when she was going to open the door, however, she remembered what happened last time. Hiding against the wall, she quickly flung open the door. This way, if Shizuru did pop out the blue haired girl wouldn't be caught off guard. When nothing happened, Natsuki finally declared that it was safe to go out.

Shizuru had finished changing and was currently resting on top of Natsuki's bed. It was different to see Shizuru in normal clothes. Although the sophisticated dress was no longer on her body, Shizuru seemed to still retain a sort of air. Natsuki had to admit, seeing the older girl in her casual clothing was a bit strange.

"So, let's go downstairs," the blue haired girl said opening the door to her room. This would be the first time that her doll would walk outside the room. She wondered if her mom would appreciate, hold that thought, what would her mom do if she saw another girl walking with her?

"Wait! If we go outside, my mom will see you!" As soon as the words left Natsuki's mouth, she wanted to smack herself. Her whole plan was to get her parents to realize that her doll was a freaky-creepy-suddenly-becoming-human-might-be-plotting-murder freak.

"Don't worry, all they'll see is you carrying me," and with that Shizuru made the first step outside. Being able to walk outside of Natsuki's room was a bigger step than Shizuru expected. It wasn't that she didn't like Natsuki's room; it was just that she felt a bit confined and wanted to explore the outside worlds.

"What?" Natsuki said bewildered, and quickly followed Shizuru. The older girl was already halfway down the stairs and Natsuki quickened her pace so that she'd be by the red eyed girl.

"What do you mean? They won't see you at all? No you moving, no you walking and talking like a real girl?" Well this was an unexpected surprise and a bit unfair. If Shizuru only seemed to be in her doll form to all, but her, then maybe she really was going insane!

Shizuru chuckled as they passed by Mutsumi in the living room. Apparently also on break, Natsuki's mother was reading the newspaper. As though to prove what she earlier said, Shizuru stopped right in front of Mutsumi and politely said, "Good morning, Kuga-san."

No reaction, the younger girl could only gawk. Mutsumi eventually raised her eyes from the paper and saw her daughter gaping at her with the doll in her arms. Secretly, the mother smiled to herself. She was rather pleased about how Natsuki had come to like the doll. To emphasize her delight, Mutsumi happily inquired, "Going to play with your doll, Natsuki-chan?"

"Erm, sure yeah, I'm gonna go outside. Bye," and Natsuki disappeared out of the room with Shizuru. The older Kuga could only chortle in delight; her plan had worked after all.

Outside by the grand oak tree was a petite table. It was small for adults, but for children like Natsuki it was the perfect size. Surrounding the table, were four equally small chairs. It had come as a set, and Natsuki often would sit there in her younger years to just enjoy the nature. In reality, it had been one of her mother's many attempts to make her daughter more girly. The table and chairs were actually for tea parties, and it was decorated a horrendous bright pink along with what Natsuki thought was too many flowers. The two girls decided that they'd retreat to this area. The oak tree's shade protected them from the sun's rays.

"So, why can no one see you but me?" This ability just became another thing that Shizuru did that amused the younger girl.

"I guess it's just a power," the way the older girl said it, however, implied that she probably didn't know either.

"That is so cool. I wished I could walk invisibly among humans. Do you know cool this is?" the emerald orbs shined brightly with excitement.

"Do you have any other powers?" Natsuki asked hoping that maybe the girl could shoot lasers out of her eyes or fly or breathe fire or read people's minds. Wait, no, Natsuki didn't want the older girl to be able to read people's minds because then she could read her mind.

Shizuru thought about this for a second, and the wait just made Natsuki more anxious. _Perhaps she wants to share her secret powers with me! How amazing would that be!_ Finally Shizuru spoke and a certain devious smile graced her lips. "Do you have dougu[1?" the older girl asked.

"Dougu? I don't think so…" Natsuki's enthusiasm began to falter when she realized that she didn't have the necessary tools for Shizuru's magic.

"Tea leaves then?"

"Oh! We have those, let me go tell my mom, wait here," and Natsuki dashed back into the building.

"Hot water and cups too, Nastuki!" Shizuru exclaimed at her blue haired owner. The running girl raised her arm in the air as though to notify that she got the message.

"What a silly owner I have," Shizuru said to herself amused by how gullible her newfound friend was.

A couple minutes later, Natsuki could be seen walking beside her mother, who was holding a tray with hot water, tea leaves, and two cups. In Mutsumi's eyes, there was the doll she bought for her daughter sitting in the tea party seat. Suddenly, Mutsumi connected the two and realized that her little Natsuki wanted to have a little party with her doll. She squealed in delight, but of course confined it to her head. She knew that Ryo was wrong when he said that Natsuki wouldn't like the doll. Ryo was always wrong.

"Here you go ladies," she said placing the tray carefully upon the table. The water was still quite hot and as a good parent usually would Mutsumi asked if she could be the one to pour the boiling water.

"No, no, no, Fujino is going to show me magic, I can't let you ruin it. Go back to the house, I promise I'll be careful," Natsuki said dismissingly. Usually, Mutsumi would have never allowed such disrespect from her daughter, but the idea that her daughter was playing with the doll was just too great. Thus, the older Kuga allowed the action, just this once, and returned back home to prepare some lunch for the two girls.

"Okay, Fujino, what are we going to do? Make a potion? Is this witchcraft?" Natsuki apparently was very thrilled about the probabilities of her doll's magical powers. With the proper cooperation, they could rule the world. Well, not Shizuru, Shizuru could be her lackey, but she, Natsuki, could rule the world.

During this time, the red eyed girl did her best not to burst out laughing. She bit her lip as she pinched a couple of the leaves and dropped them into the two ceramic cups. Then very carefully, she poured the hot water into both cups. The simplicity Shizuru showed in pouring the water made Natsuki think that Shizuru was not an amateur at this sorcery.

Steam could be seen emitting from the hot liquid, and after a quick whiff, Shizuru declared that she was finished.

"So what is it? An elixir? Will we live forever if we drink it?" The questions constantly poured out. The fact that Natsuki believed that it was a magic trick was just too much for Shizuru.

"So what is it?" Natsuki asked, her eyes clearly sparkling with curiosity. It was times like these that Shizuru appreciated her master for her naivety.

"We…" She wanted to make the moment last as long as she could.

"Uh-huh…"

"Made…"

"Uh-huh…" Natsuki's voice grew with anticipation.

"Tea." And that was it. No elixir for eternal youth. No potion to make the one who drinks it invincible. Nothing. It was just tea. Natsuki's face fell into one of immense disappointment, while her doll's melodious laughter filled the air. Although Shizuru thought the joke was pretty funny, as soon as she saw Natsuki's expression her amusement died. The girl did not retaliate with any sort of crude comment, nor did she try to attack her. Instead, Natsuki sat there in silence, staring at the two cups of tea.

_I can't believe that I just fell for that. That was probably the stupidest – I knew they were tea leaves too! I can't believe it. She tricked me. She planned to make me look like an idiot, and I played my part perfectly. _The blue haired girl remained a recluse in her thoughts.

_Is she that upset about this?_ Shizuru wondered. She did not mean to hurt her master's feelings. The older girl had meant it as a harmless little joke, but apparently she had genuinely disappointed the younger girl. But most importantly, she had hurt the blue haired girl's pride. If it was anything that Shizuru realized during these two days with the other girl was that Natsuki had pride in her cool nature.

"Natsuki? It's just a joke," Shizuru worryingly solicited. "I'm sorry." Despite the sincerity in her apology, Natsuki still said nothing.

"Natsuki? Please, I'm really sorry. Please don't give me the silent treatment, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to… I didn't know that you'd be so offended. Please, I… I can't stand you being angry at me. I don't want to ruin what I worked so hard to build during these two days. Natsuki, please, look at me?" Tears began to well in those ruby eyes. Little droplets of water adhered to Shizuru's brown eyelashes. _She's going to cry…_

"Gotcha!" Natsuki said who was now the one bursting into laughter. "Ah, Fujino don't cry, I was just playing with you."

"What?" the older said wiping at her eyes. How dare the younger girl do that to her! How could she –

"That's for disappointing me, we're even now," and with that Natsuki picked up Shizuru's "potion" and blew at the top. She watched as the steam bent with her breath.

Now Shizuru was the speechless one. Natsuki had just completely reversed the situation. Yet, somehow the older girl felt a bit relieved. It seems that things between her and her owner were alright again. Natsuki was even drinking her tea!

"This isn't bad," the blue haired girl complimented; surprised that she'd actually like the taste of the bitter liquid. When she was younger, she had tried some tea from her mother but spat it out because of its taste. This tea, however, was quite delicious or maybe it was just the sweet taste of victory. _Seems like I won this battle Fujino._

For the first time of her time, Shizuru blushed. The girl that she thought hated her guts had actually praised her. Well the drink, but the chestnut haired girl was the one that made it so it was an indirect compliment.

"Ookini," the older girl replied in her native tongue. Although Natsuki wasn't familiar with the Kyoto dialect, she could tell by the red eyed girl's partial bow that she was thanking her. The blue haired girl only mumbled something incomprehensible, something that Shizuru made out as "you're welcome."

After a couple finger sandwiches, which Shizuru did not eat, the two girls somehow ended up sitting together high on the grand oak's tree branch. Natsuki was actually impressed when her girly doll was able to climb the tree with almost as much as ease as she did. The two chatted about everything, and Natsuki felt a strange sensation.

_Perhaps this is why people enjoy having friends, _the blue haired girl thought to herself. Being with Shizuru was a lot different from those fake co-worker's children. Then again with those kids, she could barely remember half their names.

"…and then he tried to hug me on the last day of class, how weird is that," The boy that Natsuki is referring to is none other than Takeda. After being asked about her school, Natsuki went into full detail of her annoying teachers, even more annoying classmates, and the ever pest, Takeda. The blue haired girl seemed to not like the boy, who obviously had a crush on her. The younger girl, however, seemed to be oblivious to this affection.

"Maybe he likes you," Shizuru replied warmly. _Talking about boys already, we're only eight…_

"No, he's Takeda. He's weird like that," Natsuki said as a matter of fact. Even though Natsuki's stories undoubtedly indicated that the boy liked her, Natsuki had no idea. Shizuru thus concluded that her owner would probably grow up thick-headed about love. Yes, her dear, unaware companion would probably cause headache for the person that loved her.

"Hey Fujino, why do you bother trying to be my friend?" It was an honest question that Natsuki had wanted to know. Most kids would have been intimidated by her cold nature, and yet Shizuru acted so freely around her. Shizuru pushed at the blue haired girl's buttons, and even when the younger girl was cruel to her, the older girl always tried to make Natsuki smile. It was the strangest of things.

The older girl wanted to say that it was out of duty – that she only wanted to be the younger girl's friend because of the predicament they were in. However, that was not the true reason. For some reason, as soon as she saw her owner, she felt a strange tug at her heart. She wanted to become friends with the scowling girl. She wanted to see a true smile from distant girl. And throughout their very short meeting, the emerald eyed girl had grown a special place in Shizuru's heart like mold.

"Ara, you know what they say. Natsuki and Shizuru sitting in a tree – " the older girl began to sing. It was a childish song that every kid in elementary school knew, even the loner Natsuki.

"Don't make me push you off the tree," Natsuki threatened, her fingers wiggling in front of Shizuru as though to emphasize the blue haired girl's warning.

"Why? What did you think I was going to say? Kissing?" Natsuki twitched, and Shizuru gently giggled.

"So, why…" Natsuki was persistent to get an answer.

"I like you," was the tan haired girl's simple response.

"Oh," Natsuki was unfamiliar with the words, especially when they came from people outside her family. Despite this, she had to admit she had grown a bit fonder of her doll than she did for most people. She was glad that the bizarre girl entered her life. "You're okay too…"

And as usual, Shizuru grinned like the Cheshire cat.

* * *

Dinner was another peaceful meal. Ryo apparently didn't come on time for this meal either. Every now and then during dinner, Natsuki would glance at the door in hopes that her father would come in. Even thirty minutes after she finished eating, her father still did not return. It wasn't until her mother commanded that Natsuki go do her homework that the blue haired girl's eyes left the door. She missed her father, and with a heavy heart she resigned to her room. 

The afternoon turned out to be more eventful than she thought it would. The two girls ended up playing some tag, which Natsuki dominated. And then some hide and go seek, which Shizuru dominated. The two competed in "who could jump the most jump rope," and Natsuki growled in irritation when the older girl seemed as though she could go on forever. She learnt some new things about her doll, and in return opened up a bit to the strange girl. The blue haired girl, however, won't admit just yet that she had finally found a friend. It was, after all, the third day they've met.

* * *

"Hey Fujino," Natsuki said dejectedly. She was still a bit unhappy that she hadn't seen her father yet. 

"Dad home yet?" Shizuru questioned, her eyes busily immersed in the pages of her owner's book.

"Not yet," the younger girl sighed and plopped on the bed beside Shizuru.

"Really because I think I hear a car pulling up," the older girl noted. And surely enough if she listened carefully, Natsuki could hear the engine of her father's car. She wanted to surprise him, and ran to the top of the stairs to give him a good scare. When the front door opened, however, Mutsumi got to her husband first.

"I hope you know what time it is," the words were unnecessarily strict, in Natsuki's opinion. Mutsumi's eyes glared coldly at her husband, who came in with a messy neck tie.

"Mutsumi, I – "

"I don't want to hear your crap. I just want you to know how disappointed Natsuki was today because of your decision," and with that she left him standing alone in the entrance hall. Unseen to both adults was a small, blue haired girl gazing from the top of the stairs. It had been the first time she heard her parents talk that way with each other, it frightened her. A bit shaken by her mother's use of a bad word, she retreated back into her room.

"Did you greet your dad?" Shizuru questioned.

"Y-yeah. He's fine, just going to get some dinner," her voice hinted at uncertainty. And as the usual observant girl Shizuru is, she decided not to ask knowing that it might upset the other girl.

Walking to her bed, Natsuki climbed and sat beside her eccentric doll. She took Duran into her arms, an action that Shizuru learnt helped calm her owner, and looked curiously to what Shizuru was reading.

"What's so great about that book anyway?" The blue haired girl had tried to read the abridged version in her earlier years, but found absolutely zero interest in the stories. She grew an even lesser interest when she was forced to sing the Momotarou[2 song in second grade.

"Ah? The stories are so interesting like the one I'm reading now; this girl just turned into a dragon, and she's going to kill the person she loves," Shizuru explained with a rather dramatic tone.

"Oh? Is she going to burn the man to a crisp?" Natsuki asked; the subject of killing sparked an interest.

"Why don't I just read the story to you?"

"I'm not a baby, I can read it myself!" The blue haired girl said unwilling to be treated as an inferior.

"How kind of Natsuki to read it to me," Shizuru said with a mild laugh. She knew that teasing the blue haired girl always ended up allowing the older girl to have her way.

"…Fine you read it. What's the story called?" Natsuki asked getting into a comfortable position. The two girls laid their back against the headboard, a pillow cushioned the contact with the wooden frame. Their legs stretched out before them, and a thin blanket covered their exposed legs – there were still wearing their playtime attire. In Natsuki's arms was the small plush dog whose nose barely made it out from the blue haired girl's arms.

Kiyohime was Shizuru's response.

* * *

Japanese Words: 

[1 dougu: tea brewing tools

[2 Momotarou: a well known hero in the Japanese folklore, "Momotarou." There's a song that goes along with it as well that many Japanese children know.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry this chapter took a little longer, this week was quite hectic for me. I thank you for reading, hopefully you enjoyed it. Natsuki's returning to school is happening soon, and of course more interaction between the two kids. Peace! 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that Sunrise owns.

Chapter 5:

"And then the guy ran under a bell, but he wasn't sneaky enough for Kiyohime," the young blue hair girl growled deeply before pretending to breath fire from her mouth, "she melted the bell, and killed the priest."

Sakomizu raised a curious eyebrow, but did not lift his eyes from the paper. The curly haired man was busy grading the young girl's homework while listening to a folktale that he long had not heard. There were two things that surprised him today about Natsuki. First was that she actually read the story and somehow found importance in relating it to him. The blue haired girl seemed more open and childish than usual, which almost made her seem, at most, approachable. Secondly and perhaps more impressive was that she had finished all her math homework with no mistakes at all. Usually, Sakomizu would be left with a half page or so filled with doodles of angry wolves eating what he assumed to be her homework. There would also be the occasional error here and there, but today there was nothing. It was perfect.

"Hey, are you listening?" Natsuki asked; she hated when she spoke to someone and not a single word had gone through that person's ear.

"The story of Kiyohime," Sakomizu pushed up his glasses, "of course I was paying attention. I was just multitasking." After his college years, Sakomizu had trained himself to be able to listen attentively to someone while working. It was a skill that saved his life in his college years.

"By the way, one hundred percent, good work Natsuki-san," he said displaying a brilliant red one hundred percent at the top of the blue haired girl's homework. There was a little happy face too; he figured that he'd draw it since his elementary school teacher commonly did that.

"Really?" the eight year girl said in disbelief. She snatched the paper to see her first one hundred on her homework. There was an obvious smile on her face, and Sakomizu was left with the impression that Natsuki wasn't as cold as he thought her to be.

"So what's your secret? Did you actually remember everything I taught you?" his chubby finger curled one of his brown strands and twirled it playfully.

She stuck her tongue out at her tutor for that last comment. It wasn't her fault that math never really adhered itself to her brain.

"No, this weird girl taught me…"

_Girl? My antisocial student associating with another girl, impossible._ Sakomizu thought quietly to himself. "That's a mean thing to call your mom."

"It wasn't my mom, gosh," Natsuki said as she glanced around suspiciously. "It…" she paused; Natsuki wasn't sure whether or not she should tell him about Shizuru. Would he too think that she's crazy?

Sakomizu was puzzled by his student's actions. It had been the first time that the stubborn eight year old girl brought up another girl.

After careful contemplation, Natsuki figured that telling the afro man would be alright. He wasn't as mean and closed minded as adults. He was… a grown up kid.

"I got this really creepy doll on my birthday, and she can come to life. She's the one that taught me, and she also read me the story of Kiyohime," her speech was so softly and quickly spoken that the curly haired man almost didn't catch what she said.

"Comes… to life?" he asked in a doubtful manner. He was all for the possibility of the paranormal, and while it was possible that the doll was possessed, it seemed a bit unreal to him.

Natsuki sighed in disappointment, "You're just like my parents. You probably think I'm crazy now don't you."

"No, no, Natsuki-san. I had an imaginary friend when I was young too. His name was Kyosuke and – "

"She's not imaginary! She's real, but for some reason I'm the only that can see her come to life," Natsuki stated, her voice growing louder with each word. She was furious. No one would ever believe her.

"I… see," it was all he could say at the moment. During her little confession, Natsuki had stood up, knocking over her chair, and pounded her fists on the table. Luckily for them, the room was secluded and the walls were soundproof.

_Talking dolls, _he thought closing his eyes for a moment. He had always told himself to let a child's imagination roam free. As a child, he had often been put down by his own parents, and swore that he would never do that to others. Was that what he was doing to Natsuki? Doubting unlikely possibilities and molding them to fit society's own expectations and explanations? No, he wouldn't do that to Natsuki; she was after all, his favorite student.

"I believe you, Natsuki-san," he half lied. In the meantime, he brought out a new sheet of paper and began writing new problems for today's quiz.

"You do?" the blue haired girl questioned, her temper had died down and she gently sank back into her seat. In her heart, she felt glad that there was finally someone she could speak to about this.

"Of course, so tell me about this girl, is she your friend?" his pencil moved quickly against the blank sheet, and within seconds half the page was filled with multiplication and division problems.

"She… well, I don't know. She's kinda weird. She smiles too much and she likes to tease me. She gets on my nerves, and she has this really annoying accent. She has this air that says 'look at me I'm better than you because I'm older than you.' She tricked me once too!" Although Natsuki's descriptions of this mysterious person were clearly things that she didn't like, there was a strange smile on her face.

"But…" Sakomizu finally lifted his eyes from the paper to stare right into his pupil's.

"But," Natsuki started while diverting her eyes to the side, "she's fun. Don't tell her I told you, she'd never let me live it down."

"Your secret is safe with me. Just remember to play nice, dolls have feelings too," he chuckled figuring that he'd never have the chance to talk to this magical doll anyway. Much time had passed in their little digression, and as much fun as it was, they needed to start getting on tutoring again. "Now, Natsuki-san, pop quiz time. School's starting soon, and we need to make sure you know your material."

"Are you serious? You're horrible, I hate you," and she growled at the paper as though trying to breath fire as Kiyohime did.

* * *

"_And with a terrific blow, fire blew out from Kiyohime's reptilian lips. The flames engulfed the bell, and slowly the cold metal melted and transformed to liquid. Anchin realized that he couldn't do anything and in his last moments before death grabbed him, he prayed to the gods for forgiveness. Kiyohime was devastated, and never did she love again. The end," Shizuru concluded, shutting the book and taking it into her lap._

"_Hey, you made that last part up. It doesn't say that she never loved again," said the younger girl, who had been carefully following along with the words._

"_Ara, so Natsuki was paying attention. When your eyelids closed, I assumed that Natsuki had fallen asleep," Shizuru chuckled amusingly. The older girl's laughter had turn into a symphony of annoyance, and in response Natsuki glared._

"_Tch, of course I was paying attention," she said with mocking anger. The blue haired girl turned her head away from the older girl and made a "hmph" sound as though to further demonstrate her anger. Just as Shizuru's expression turned into one of worry, however, Natsuki let out a sly smile._

"_Ah, Natsuki is such a meanie," the chestnut haired girl whined before taking a pillow and throwing it at her owner._

"_Hey," the blue haired girl shouted from the surprise attack. Quick to take revenge, she grabbed the pillow and whacked the older girl. She made sure not to use her whole strength though. Despite the durability the other girl had shown during their playtime, Shizuru still had the essence of fragility written over her. _

"_Oof," Shizuru muttered falling onto the bed and becoming easy prey to Natsuki's pillow attacks. She grabbed Natsuki's other pillow and hurriedly defended herself from the incoming blows. Defense, however, immediately changed to offense, and Shizuru once again surprised her owner with pillow attacks._

"_You know for someone that looks so fancy, you kinda aren't," Natsuki told her doll while dodging Shizuru's skilled attacks._

"_Looks are deceiving, Natsuki," the older girl replied. Gracefully, Shizuru side stepped from the incoming pillow and with her left hand seized Natsuki's pillow from the blue haired girl's hand. With no pillow to use, the younger girl could only hold her hands up as protection. Awaiting a double hit combo from her doll, Natsuki prepared herself for the worse, but surprisingly nothing happened. When she lowered her arms, she realized that Shizuru was putting the folktale book onto her table._

"_Fujino?" the fun was obviously over, and there was something on her doll's mind._

"_That part I added, don't you think it's true? If Kiyohime was sure this person was her true love then he'll be the only person she'll ever love. I think she killed him not out of revenge, but to make sure that he wouldn't love others. What do you think?" There was a hint of longing and curiosity in the chestnut haired girl's question._

"_I think love is too complicated. I wouldn't wanna deal with it," Natsuki admitted frankly not knowing that she had accidentally shared another thought with the creepy girl. With all this going on, the argument between her parents that she heard earlier was completely forgotten._

"_That's a shame, Natsuki. I think despite all its trouble, love would be worth it," the older girl said before getting off the bed to let her owner sleep. The blue haired girl could only grumble in response, something so inaudible that only Duran could hear it.

* * *

_

"Ninety-seven percent, Natsuki-san. You've improved," Sakomizu glanced at his pupil behind his awkward, circular glasses.

"Tch, should've been one hundred," she muttered to herself.

"You would've if you hadn't," he extended his arm so that they could look at the paper together. With his red pen, he pointed at the circled mistake, "mistaken your 6's as 0's."

Within the next second, Natsuki crumbled the paper and threw it behind her. She was so close to that perfect score!

"Ah, well I believe today is our last tutoring session for the summer math program. Do you have any other questions?" he asked in desperation to lighten the mood. He wanted their departure to be one of gratitude and fun. It had certainly been an adventure working with the blue haired girl.

* * *

_Flashback_

_When Kaiji Sakomizu meant to get a summer job, he was not anticipating one that involved children. It wasn't that he hated children, he was quite childish himself, it was just that he didn't like working with such young people. He thought that it would influence his real work, and maybe even dumb him. Intelligent, though not particularly athletic or good looking, Sakomizu easily landed the job as the tutor. It balanced well with his other vocation, which he continued to keep as a secret. Either way, the point of the tutoring job was just to earn some extra cash. He did like to indulge in eating after all._

_He looked at his schedule with mild excitement. He would have to tutor three different children, each for about three hours. A total of nine hours gone cut from his life. The first on his list was a Kuga Natsuki, so in the morning he swung by a McDonalds and picked up a breakfast burger and a cup of bitter coffee. He preferred his coffee black and his burger with extra meat._

_When he entered the tutoring building, he found it a lot busier than he expected it. All over were children from the city that had come to prep before returning to school. He entered his private room and admired how he could hear nothing but the sound of his own chewing and slurping. There was a clock in the room, but it was ticked silently. _

_At nine o'clock sharp, there was a rap against the door. Sakomizu immediately stood up and straightened his tie. He swallowed the last remains of his hamburger and threw the wrapper into the trashcan beneath his desk._

"_Sakomizu-sensei," it was the secretary that spoke. Behind her was a blue haired girl with a scowl on her face. "This is your first student Kuga Natsuki."_

_The secretary opened the door a bit wider and let the blue haired girl walk in by herself. The girl threw her backpack onto the desk and reluctantly sat down in the seat across from him._

"_I'm Kaiji Sakomizu. I'll be your tutor for the next couple of weeks. I – "_

"_Spare me the details. I didn't choose to be here," the girl informed. Her words had surprised the curly haired man, who did not expect a seven year old to talk in such a cutting manner._

"_I just graduated from Tokyo University and – " he stopped himself only because of the unimpressed look on Natsuki's face. "I will do my best to help you." He figured that it wouldn't do much to talk about himself. He looked at the file that the secretary had handed him earlier. It gave a detailed report on the student's strengths and weaknesses, but mostly the latter so that the two may work together to improve it._

"_So I see that you are having trouble with multiplication and division?" _

_Although Sakomizu wanted to help the girl, her lack of cooperation made it a bit difficult. Her green eyes pierced his dull silver ones. He felt a shiver, but knew that it was not because of the air conditioning. _

"_Er, here are some papers then," he said taking out a prepared lesson plan. _

_The first couple days with the girl were absolutely torturous. The first hour would usually be wasted by silence and glares from the young girl. There was even a day when the girl claimed to want to go the bathroom, and in the end never came back. However, after a heavy scolding from her mother, Natsuki began to cooperate. _

_As the days passed on and his waistline expanded, Natsuki slowly and perhaps unknowingly began to open up to him. Her words were still sharp as a sword, but they became mixed with playfulness. Although still a bit cynical, Sakomizu eventually found an effective way to handle his stubborn and arrogant student. And despite this girl's strange behavior, he found himself liking the girl very much. She was true to her feelings, and hated losing. _

_Finally, the last day has come, and he bought her a present as a "good luck in school." It was easy to find out what the blue haired girl liked since her clothes reflected her interests.

* * *

_

"Yeah, are you going to grow an afro? You're hair gets bigger every time I see you," she said with a laugh. It wasn't that she hated his hair, it was just funny.

Sakomizu touched his hair and agreed that it indeed had grown longer. Perhaps he would cut it later or maybe not.

"You don't find it attractive? Don't think I'll get a girlfriend with this hair?" he asked her jokingly. As the words left his mouth though he felt stupid for saying them. He was, after all, talking to an eight year old.

"No, you'd never get a girlfriend with an afro," Natsuki broke into laughter.

"Oh yeah? You want to make a bet? I'll let you know it's very stylish." See? An overgrown teenager was her Sakomizu-sensei.

"Okay, let your hair grow out until it's a big afro. If you don't get a girlfriend by the time I'm in high school, then… you have to buy me a motorcycle," she had a giant grin on her face. Not only were her chances of winning very high, but by the time she is in high school, Natsuki would be able to drive that motorcycle.

"Deal, and if I win then you have to volunteer, as in not get paid, at this very institute and help needy children just like you," he established with a smug smile. Money wasn't a big issue for Sakomizu. His other job actually provided a good paycheck every now and then and if everything goes according to plan then he should be able to retire early and live a very comfortable life. What he wanted in the bet wasn't that hard either, sure Natsuki may turn out to be a horrible tutor, but time can change a person right?

"Deal and I want a good motorcycle too, a Ducati. And by motorcycle, I mean a real one," she added just in case Sakomizu decides to worm his way out of her prize.

"I know, I know," and the two shook hands on it. Suddenly, his cell phone went off, indicating that class was over.

"Ah, Natsuki-san, before you go this is for you," he handed her a bag with a wrapped present inside it. The wrapping paper had the words Happy Birthday on it and was decorated with party hats and confetti. "It's just a little something since today is our last day and because I heard your birthday was a couple days ago."

Natsuki wanted to tear the present open, but was reminded of the many do's and don'ts from her mothers. Do accept a present with modesty and appreciation. Don't open the present in front of the person. Do say "thank you" after receiving something. Don't take it with one hand. The list seemed to go on forever.

"Thank you Sakomizu-sensei, it's been… fun," she accepted the present with both hands and gave him a polite bow.

"One more thing," he suddenly remembered and reached into his wallet to pull out his business card. "We're going to need to keep in touch if we want to see who wins this bet. This is my cellular phone number, my cell phone's always on. If you ever need help, feel free to call me."

The blue haired girl once again bowed in gratitude and took the business card into her hands. She deposited it into the bag and waved a final goodbye to her tutor. There would be no hugging or tears since both thought there would be no need for sentiments. Their paths were surely to cross again.

* * *

"My, that's a big present," Mutsumi noticed as she led her daughter to her car. Taking out her keys, she unlocked the door and slid herself into the sleek, navy automobile. 

"Yup, it's from Sakomizu-sensei," her hands were itching to tear open the present. Just as her hand was going to unfold the first crease, her mother's nagging voice interrupted Natsuki's action.

"Wait until you're home, dear. I don't want a bunch of paper all over my car. I hope you thanked him for the gift," with the keys now in the ignition, the two Kugas started their journey home.

"Duh, I'm not stupid," even Natsuki knew common courtesy.

"So how was your last day of class? Are you going to miss Sakomizu-sensei?" It had been a tiring five weeks, and the older Kuga assumed that by then her daughter would've had some kind of teacher-student connection.

"Nah," the blue haired spoke, but her words didn't match her actions. She clutched the bag tighter in her arms as though hugging her tutor. She wouldn't want to admit it aloud, but she was going to miss talking and making fun of the big oaf.

* * *

"Fujino, can you help open the door?" Natsuki had difficultly opening the door since both hands were occupied with holding the bag. With her elbow, the blue haired girl pressed down the door's handle and pushed the door open. The lights today were off. 

"Fujino?" the younger girl whispered in fear that the older girl might want to do another surprise scare. Turning on the light switch, Natsuki then set her present by a nearby table. Illumination did help her sight, but the doll was not where she usually was.

"Hello?" it was weird to have no response. Finally, Natsuki was able to find her potential friend sitting by the abandoned bear. It was the same chair where her mom first placed the creepy toy. The blue haired girl walked over nonchalantly and waved her hand up and down in front of the doll's celluloid eyes. With still no response, Natsuki figured that the doll would come to life on her own. Shedding the dark cerulean jacket, she giddily went to the bag, which contained a present of infinite possibilities. Well not infinite, Sakomizu wasn't that rich.

Just as she pulled out the present, a figure came behind her and in the familiar accent asked, "Ara, what's that Natsuki?"

Once again, the blue haired girl was startled by the older girl's silent way of walking. She almost let out a surprised gasp, but by this time learnt to keep quiet. She wasn't going to give Shizuru another chance to tease her.

"Oi, don't do that…"

"Do what?" the chestnut haired grinned with such innocence Natsuki swore she could almost see the glowing halo above Shizuru's head.

"Come out of nowhere and sca…surprise me," the blue haired girl luckily caught herself before saying the "s" word.

"What was that? Scare? Did I scare Natsuki?" the grin was growing ever more maddening, and Natsuki swatted her hand playfully at the older girl. Figuring that it'd be better left the way it is, the younger girl ignored the doll's words and turned her attention to the present.

Shizuru never saw anyone shred open a present faster than Natsuki just did. The girl tore at it like a starved hyena to a dead carcass. Scraps of paper fell like snow beside the two girls and the chestnut haired girl looked at her owner with much interest. At the heart of the cold blue haired girl was really just a normal eight year old girl.

An excited gasp filled the air and Shizuru observed how her owner's eyes widened in awe.

"Did Natsuki get something good?" Shizuru still had trouble distinguishing the things Natsuki liked and disliked.

"Fujino, do you know what this is?" the blue haired girl thrust her opened present in front of the older girl. Shizuru, who tried desperately to figure out the present was, could only give a feeble answer of "a motorcycle?"

"It's not just any motorcycle, Fujino. It's a Ducati Monster S4 diecast motorcycle model!" but the description left the older girl in greater confusion. It seemed just like a really fancy and long name for a motorcycle. To Shizuru they seemed almost all the same.

"Is that good?" she figured it probably was by the blue haired girl's excitement, but decided to ask anyway. It wouldn't hurt to ask right?

"Better than good! This was one of the things that I wanted for my birthday! I guess he really paid attention when I was blabbing my wish list," Natsuki did not remove the toy from its box though. Instead, she placed it on top of her drawers as though to display the toy's magnificence. For some reason, Shizuru felt a bit hurt. The attention and adoration that Natsuki gave to the toy greatly exceeded that given to her. Shizuru would always remember her owner's initial reaction in seeing her. Despite her personal feelings, the chestnut haired girl held them in and gave Natsuki a smile.

"If Natsuki is happy, then I am too," but Natsuki didn't hear a single word her doll said. The girl was still adjusting the box just to find the perfect position to place it. Sighing to herself, Shizuru retreated from her owner's love for the new toy.

_I've been beaten by a stupid, inanimate object. What's so great about a motorcycle, a Du… something. _

"Fujino, what do you think about here? This is a good spot right?" the blue haired girl turned around to see that her doll was lying on the bed. It was a bit hard to remember that even though Shizuru was a doll, she still had feelings – feelings that she, Natsuki, should probably consider. The blue haired girl mentally hit herself. If she was going to get involved in this thing called friendship, she should probably have a better start to it.

"Sorry, Fujino. It's just I really like motorcycles. I… " Natsuki averted her eyes for a second. She wasn't too sure about this talking about things they liked thing that friends always seemed to do. It was easier talking to Sakomizu than a doll that can come to life.

The information, however, seemed to perk Shizuru up. Immediately, the chestnut haired girl's eyes lifted in interest to her owner's as though to say "please continue."

"I like wolves and dogs too. I sometimes wished I had a dog. So, erm, what do you like Fujino?" the whole thing seemed really awkward, but she was wiling to try making decent small talk with the older girl.

"I love to read and I do like to drink tea. Though, I do like Natsuki too," the older girl replied with a grin.

"Oh," Natsuki still had a bit trouble responding to that particular phrase. So she gave the only answer that she could, "you're okay too."

Shizuru shrugged, same thing as what the blue haired girl said last time, but at least it was better than "I hate you."

The two girls were lying in bed together. After the ice broke between them, Shizuru found that Natsuki had a lot more to say than she thought. The younger girl was talkative and liked to tell various anecdotes from her personal life. Shizuru listened intensively, making sure to absorb every single detail that her owner told her. The blue haired girl was once again in the mood of opening up, and Shizuru took the chance to expand their friendship.

"I don't really like school, I wish it could be summer vacation forever…"

"If it were forever, I don't think it'd be called summer vacation anymore," the older girl corrected while chuckling. The blue haired girl let out an annoyed grunt and rolled her eyes.

"Well, it'll be forever until winter vacation. I can't believe school is coming up, summer vacation passed by so fast. You're so lucky Fujino, you don't need to go to school," Natsuki crossed her arms and shifted into a better position. She observed how the chestnut haired girl remained oddly quiet for the first few seconds as though to think of an appropriate answer.

"I think I'd like school. I would want to learn," she admitted honestly.

"You don't need to learn, you're a genius or something. I mean, you're a doll and you know how to do advanced multiplication! I wish you could go to school for me, then I'll stay at home and play all day," Natsuki imagined how great it'd be to see her fellow peers and teachers freak from a talking doll. If only others could see Shizuru, think of all the mayhem she could cause.

"Natsuki, don't be ridiculous. You should go to school, and maybe you'll become smarter than I am," as much as Shizuru would've loved if the two played together longer, she knew that education was still relatively important in the society they live in.

"Tch, I'm already smarter than you are," the younger girl poked her tongue out childishly at the older girl. The chestnut haired girl, however, was not the slightest offended. She giggled softly at her owner's arrogance.

"So what else can you do besides math? Are you a good writer? If so you can do my writing homework, I hate learning Kanji," the blue haired girl was going to make sure that the older girl help her as much as possible. What's the point of having a talking doll if you can't exploit her usefulness?

"That reminds me," the older girl sat up and with her right arm stabled herself so that she could lean over the younger girl, "teach me to write your name."

"Why?" Natsuki wondered and pushed the girl from protruding any more into her personal bubble. She too sat up and the two girls looked intently at each other. One girl had on a pair of sad eyes and even pouted as though to further the plea. The other girl, on the other hand, had on an irritated expression.

"Please, I just want to know, wouldn't Natsuki like to see how my name is written?" the girl offered in an attempt to make some kind of exchange.

_Is this what people do when they're friends? Write each other's names? Wait, if Fujino's writing can be seen… then that means I still have a chance to show the others that she exists!_

"Fine," the blue haired girl swung her legs over the end of the bed and went to her desk. She grabbed a scrap piece of paper and with the blue pen, which lay lonely on the table, wrote her name.

"Kuga Natsuki," the younger girl read aloud while outstretching her hand so that the other girl could see the paper. Shizuru gratefully accepted it and looked at her owner's slightly sloppy, yet unique handwriting. Her owner's name was written in hiragana, and not the Kanji that she was expecting. Her owner's writing was also a bit crooked and the stroke order for the Kanji seemed a bit off. Shizuru assumed that the girl never took a proper calligraphy class, or maybe she just didn't pay attention in class.

The older girl took the pen from Natsuki's hand and at the same desk wrote out her name. Each character was gracefully and beautifully written, or that's what Natsuki thought. The blue haired girl both admired and hated her doll for the neat penmanship.

"Fujino Shizuru," the older girl said reciprocating Natsuki's actions. She handed the paper back to the younger girl and waited for a response.

"You know, for someone that has this character of 'shizu' in her name, you're not very quiet," Natsuki said with a devious grin. She crumbled the ball up and threw it and Shizuru, who was smacked right in the middle of her forehead.

"Mou, Natsuki is still such a meanie to me," but Natsuki's laughter overwhelmed the older girl's words. With nothing else to do, Shizuru charged at her owner knocking the two of them over. With skilled and nimble fingers, the chestnut haired girl tickled the blue haired girl. The unexpected attack left Natsuki as victim to Shizuru's tickling.

"Alright stop, stop, I'm sorry," and Shizuru's fingers left Natsuki's side. There was a dubious look on her face though because she knew that her owner would never give up so easily. As though on cue, Natsuki pranced forward and began tickling the doll. The two broke out into a tickle war and laughter filled the room. The sound of Natsuki's giggles were music to Shizuru's ears. The two of them were beginning to become even closer friends.

Away and left on the bed, a pair of black beaded eyes stared in amusement at the scene. Duran would be the only witness to Shizuru and Natsuki's eccentric friendship.

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, I got so distracted these two weeks. I'm sorry for the delay for this chapter, I was also struck with a bit of writer's block. The next chapter will be Natsuki's first day of school, and everyone knows how fun that is. Poor Shizuru is going to be left alone, or is she? Tune in next time for the next chapter, and as always I hope you enjoyed this portion. 

Note: the kanji for Shizuru's shizu is the same shizu in the word shizuka, which means quiet.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Same as before... Oh and a curse word if that offends anyone

Chapter 6:

It had been two or so weeks since Natsuki first gotten her strange doll, and it seemed that each day came along with new surprises. True to the box's words, Natsuki's time with Shizuru really did seem like an enchanting adventure. Although the blue haired girl still was tentative to open up to the older girl, it was evident that a unique bond existed between the two. Shizuru would easily label their relationship as a friendship, though the younger girl was still unsure what to call it.

It had been a fun remaining two weeks of summer vacation and Shizuru made sure to make it extra fun for her owner. Of course, her own version of fun was much different than Natsuki's, whose ideas of tea parties and dressing up were far from electrifying. The one incident of wearing matching pink dresses was something Natsuki would forever regret complying to.

The day, however, had finally come, and Shizuru knew that she wouldn't be able to keep Natsuki to herself forever. School would start, and the stubborn, blue haired girl would be stripped away from the chestnut haired girl. Even yesterday, Natsuki could barely spare Shizuru a couple minutes because of supply shopping and preparing for school. It saddened the doll greatly and she cursed that she was brought into Natsuki's life at a day so close to the opening of school.

* * *

It was currently 3 AM, and Shizuru still couldn't find herself to be able to relax. In three hours or so, her owner would wake up and go to school. The chestnut haired girl sighed to herself for what seemed the twentieth time – it was the only noise that filled the idyllic room besides Natsuki's light snoring. The agitated doll kept pacing about the blue haired girl's room. She really didn't know why she couldn't sleep though, after all, she wasn't the one that had to go to school. Perhaps, she was just worried about Natsuki. No, that wasn't it. 

Shizuru stopped at the end of Natsuki's bed and looked sorrowfully at her owner. The thing that had been bothering her more or less for the past three days was that Natsuki was going to go to school and probably make new friends. The blue haired girl would spend her time with these new friends and spend less time with Shizuru. In the day, the younger haired girl would have her time playing and developing closer friendships with her classmates and by night, Natsuki would be busily occupied with homework. In Shizuru's mind, there would be no more time for their playtime.

She crawled ever so gently onto the bed, so that she could get a better look at her owner. When sleeping, Natsuki appeared so much less aggressive. Her skin was illuminated by the moon's light making it appear even more beautiful. The cobalt hair was messily sprawled over the light blue pillow, and Shizuru wondered how it'd feel to run her fingers through those silky strands. As she observed her master even more closely, Shizuru knew that her owner would grow up to be gorgeous. That is, as long as Natsuki doesn't eat herself chubby with all that mayonnaise. Even then, Shizuru thought to herself, the cool eight year old would still be a beauty.

These ideas of the future often troubled the porcelain doll, who feared that Natsuki would want nothing to do with her. It would be like that girl in that one movie; Shizuru would be put into a brown cardboard box along with other unwanted toys and donated to some Army reserve. Tears began to well in Shizuru's eyes as she curled up into a ball onto Natsuki's bed.

"Fujino… what are you doing?" The voice was weary, but not annoyed. Sitting up, so that she could see the weeping ball in front of her, she poked Shizuru's side and repeated her question.

"Natsuki? You're awake" Crimson orbs stared surprised into emerald ones. _What was she doing awake? It was 3…_

"As much as I'd love to sleep before school starts, your sighing and walking around kept me up. You've been sighing a lot, and what's that?" the blue haired rubbed her eyes before leaning over to get a better look at her doll. With the limited illumination, Natsuki was able to make out that her doll was crying. Not necessarily with streams of tears coming down her face, but there were indeed a couple droplets that had escaped from those melancholy eyes.

"Are you crying?" Natsuki's voice was not harsh. In fact it seemed to be filled with warm and concern. The question was something Shizuru did not expect. With the blue haired girl's cool personality, the older girl had actually thought the blue haired girl would spit out something like "crying is for weaklings" or "what are you Fujino, a baby?" But none of the following had been said.

Shizuru nodded to answer her owner's question, and quickly wiped the remainder of her tears as to not embarrass herself. As the older and _much_ more elegant girl, she needed to maintain her composure.

"I'm sorry Natsuki, it's nothing. Please forge – "

"No, what's wrong?" Despite her soothing words, Natsuki made no attempt to move closer to physically comfort the older girl. There was still a bit of uncertainty for Natsuki of what to do during these situations.

"I'm just having some trouble sleeping," Shizuru said half-truthfully. She didn't want to share her quandary with her owner just yet, especially when the blue haired girl hadn't mutually agreed that they were friends.

"So you do sleep," the younger girl chuckled, "all this time I thought you just turned back into a doll and thought of new ways to tease me." She was trying to lighten up the mood, but Shizuru face still displayed anxiety.

"Ah, look, erm," Natsuki rubbed at the back of her head with her right hand. In the left was the small dog plush. "School is going to start in a couple of hours, and we both need to sleep. Why don't you take Duran for tonight, and tell me what's wrong when I come back tomorrow."

"Natsu – "

"Duran always protects me when I sleep. I feel safe with him, and maybe if you sleep with him you'll feel the same way," Natsuki said probably unaware of what she just said. It was extremely late, and the blue haired girl's mind wasn't properly functioning, which might be why she let the intimate detail slip out. Shizuru was sure that if Natsuki had been aware of her own words, the blue haired girl would surely cover it up with tough pretences.

Shizuru wasn't sure if she was supposed to take the dog plush. Sure Natsuki had offered it to her, but the younger girl's sleepiness was clearly evident. Nonetheless, the gesture was kind, and Shizuru accepted Duran with much gratefulness.

"Thank you Natsuki," the chestnut haired girl said as she took Duran into her arms. The dog plush seemed a bit hesitant before going into a new pair of arms. The blue haired girl nodded her head forward and when she lifted it again, she threw her head back until it fell onto the pillow. Natsuki was once again in sleep mode. Shizuru chuckled at her owner's strange actions; the blue haired girl probably wasn't going to remember them in the morning. Despite Natsuki's strange sleep-wake moment, Shizuru decided to expel her fears from her mind. The blue haired girl, somewhere underneath that iciness, cared about her and was surely never going to discard her like some old toy. After all, Shizuru was special.

Embracing Duran one last time, the chestnut haired girl kissed the top of the dog's nose and returned it to her sleeping owner. Retreating from her sleeping beauty, the doll returned to her place by the neglected teddy and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Natsuki, Natsuki, are you up yet?" there was a loud booming voice outside. Natsuki grumbled something incomprehensible before burrowing her head deeper into her pillow. Her mother's quick pacing outside the room was becoming quite maddening. Suddenly Mutsumi knocked furiously at the blue haired girl's door, which caused Natsuki to finally sit up in bed and yell, "I'm up already!" 

The deafening rapping stopped and Natsuki reluctantly pulled her blanket off her exhausted body. It was only 6 AM, and the young Kuga once again grumbled something to herself. Her eyes were barely open and she walked lazily to her bathroom. The blue haired girl would've crashed right into the door, if a certain doll didn't open the door for her. Seeing that Natsuki was definitely not a morning person, Shizuru filled Natsuki's cup with paper and applied toothpaste to the blue toothbrush. The blue haired girl continued to walk, oblivious to the other girl's help, and when she reached out, a toothbrush was handed to her. Whilst she brushed her teeth, Shizuru went to the side to retrieve the blue haired girl's face towel. Dampening it with warm water, the chestnut haired girl then squeezed all the water out so that the towel was ready to be used to clean her owner's face.

For some reason, Shizuru had a great deal of fun with assisting Natsuki with her morning activities. Once Natsuki finished brushing her teeth, her hand went to the towel that Shizuru prepared and began to wipe at her face. The older girl giggled and excused herself so that she may prepare the clothes that Natsuki would wear on her first day of school.

After two weeks of living as Natsuki's roommate, the sandy haired girl knew where and how the other girl organized her clothes. Pulling open the bottommost drawer, Shizuru raised an eyebrow at the array of dresses. She knew that her owner hated to wear such clothing, but kept them nonetheless in perfect condition. It was strange; Shizuru picked up a pink dress and admired its simple beauty. It had a straightforward lace pattern around the collar and frills at the end of the helm. If she had gone to school, Shizuru would probably wear something similar to a dress like this one. Her own dress, however, would be a slight more extravagant. Feeling proud of her choice, though she knew Natsuki would throw a fit when she was fully conscious, Shizuru placed the dress on Natsuki's bed.

Within minutes, Natsuki opened the door and took a deep breath as though to better waken herself. She lifted her lithe arms into the air and cocked them to the right then to the left as a morning stretch.

"Good morning, Natsuki," the elegant Japanese doll greeted, sitting comfortably by pink dress that Natsuki would be wearing to school.

"Uh…" was Natsuki's sluggish reply. Apparently the girl really didn't have enough sleep yesterday. The blue haired girl reached for the pink dress and tilted her head to the side as she gazed at the frills and lace.

"I think Natsuki would look positively gorgeous," the Kyoto girl cheered on. Grasping the blue haired girl's shoulders, Shizuru pushed the girl back into the bathroom so that the younger girl may change in peace. Once the door closed, Shizuru leaned against the door, her eyes shut tight in anticipation.

"5… 4… 3…." Shizuru counted down.

"FUJINO!" cried the blue haired girl from the bathroom. Immediately, the older girl removed her frame from the door so that her owner could fling it open. The blue eyed girl glared hatefully at the older girl who only smiled like a cherub.

"Yes?" the chestnut haired girl inquired innocently.

"What kind of abomination are you trying to make me to wear?" Oh, _abomination_, it was a word that Natsuki learnt last week when she was reviewing some vocabulary words.

"I think it's beautiful, Natsuki. A perfect outfit for such an event, in fact, it's almost as – "

"Ah! Don't mention that ever again, please," the younger girl said sighing at the memory of those matching pink dresses. Her mother had even taken pictures of the two without Natsuki's realization.

"Oh, but Natsuki –"

"I hate you!" the blue haired girl cut her friend off again. She charged straight at her drawers to find a more suited outfit. As she was digging through her clothes, though, her mother's voice rang out from downstairs.

"Natsuki, what are you doing the bus is going to come soon!" At that instant, Natsuki glared daggers at Shizuru. If she were to change, she'd risk being late to school. First impressions were always important, and she didn't want to seem like a troublesome student on the first day. After all, her truculent behavior was to be saved for later.

"I guess, Natsuki just has to go to school in the dress," the older girl smirked as Natsuki displayed her obvious annoyance. _Ara, three twitches._

"Fujino, I hate you," she spoke each word very slowly; each syllable emphasized her undying loathing toward the sneaky doll.

"Ara, just a mean thing to say to someone who helped prepare you for school. Here, your school bag and socks. Do be a good girl at school," Shizuru mocked Natsuki with her words and even added a sly wink, exacerbating her beloved owner.

Natsuki snatched at her belongings and gave Shizuru the evil eye once more. Just before she left the room, however, she raised her index finger and slid it across her throat. _When I come back Fujino, you are going to feel the worse pain ever._ Shizuru only smiled in response and waved goodbye to her possessor.

It had been a horribly devious trick that she played on her owner, but was the reaction oh so delectable. Shizuru would probably have to help Natsuki for a month on her homework just to make up for her prank. She swore that she'd never do it again. Shizuru lay back on Natsuki's bed and took Duran into her arms.

"Don't think I was a bit too mean doing that right?" The round black beads seemed to sympathize with her emerald eyed master.

"Ara, maybe just a bit then? I hope she has a good day at school," Shizuru stated, her last phrase filled with slight concern. In reality, her heart was still consumed by bothersome thoughts of Natsuki leaving her for new friends. However, what if Natsuki was bullied at school? What if Natsuki didn't fit in and didn't get what was happening in her class? What if… what if… Shizuru plopped onto Natsuki's pillow and held Duran close to her chest.

"Our Natsuki's a strong girl, she'll be fine," and with her hands she made it so that the little dog plush would nod in agreement.

* * *

"Natsuki, you're wearing a –" 

"Please don't talk about it," the blue haired girl was embarrassed enough as it was. Her mother held her hand against her mouth as to suppress a chuckle from escaping. Despite the surprise, Mutsumi was indeed delighted. Handing Natsuki her bentou, she gave her daughter a quick peck on the forehead, which the blue haired girl hurriedly wiped at.

"Have a good day at school dear," the older Kuga said as she took a sip from her morning cup of coffee. Dressed in a fashionable white blouse and simple navy skirt, Mutsumi was also preparing to leave to work. Ryo, on the other hand, was lucky in that he didn't need to leave the household until 9 AM. Mutsumi's jade eyes shot a quick glance at her husband and thought _if you are late as so much as a minute today, we are going to have a serious talk._

Even though it was still early, the summer sun's rays warmed Natsuki's skin. The cicadas and birds were both chirping enthusiastically and the neighborhood seemed to radiate in its awakening. The bus stop was conveniently located just a block away from her house, so it didn't take too long to walk to it. There were already some kids there, and Natsuki could recognize one or two as her classmates. It had been a couple months since Natsuki last saw her peers, and she was in no way excited to being stuck in a class with them again.

"Good morning, Natsuki-chan," a sprightly, pigtailed girl said turning in her direction. In her mind, the blue haired girl hated how children her age always attached the –chan honorific. She, of course, ignored the overly zeal girl's words and made sure to keep a distance from her fellow schoolmates. The group of children was happily chattering away in a fashion that reminded Natsuki of the birds and insects she heard.

The bus finally came, and Natsuki made sure to be the first to enter so that she could pick the seat she wanted. She pushed through her peers, who did not argue to let the blue haired girl enter the vehicle first. Once inside, she noticed that the bus wasn't too filled, and so she picked a spot toward the middle of the bus. It was the one where an emergency door may be opened in ever a case of danger. She liked sitting there not only because for safety precautions but also because the kids in the back were weird and the ones in the front talked too much.

As more kids filled the bus with each stop, Natsuki sighed heavily – it was going to be long ride. She hoped that no one would sit next to her.

* * *

Staring outside the window, she watched as buildings, then more buildings, and more buildings passed by. There would be the occasional tree, but at the heart of such an industrious city, it was hard to see such a spectacle. For some reason, Natsuki wished that Shizuru was sitting by her on the bus and going to school together. She'd strangle the doll first for finagling her to wear the outfit, and then perhaps chat with the older girl. She had to admit, she did enjoy the older girl's company. Sighing onto the bus's window so that she could see her own condensation, Natsuki wondered what her doll would do during her hours gone. 

"K-Kuga-san?" stuttered a strangely familiar voice. _Oh no, only one person would call me Kuga-san with such a cautious manner. Please don't let it be, please don't let it be._ Very slowly, the cobalt haired girl turned her head to the source of the intrusion.

_Great… _"Takeda-san," she replied acknowledging his presence, an action she immediately regretted once he sat down by her. _You know me saying your name is not an invitation for you to sit by me_.

"That's a p-pretty pink dress," Takeda complimented, trying to flatter her and hopefully woo her to his charming ways. To his attempts to captivate her heart, however, were ignored and deemed futile. She didn't want anything to do with him, and rolled her eyes in hopes of getting him to forget about her. She didn't know why he was acting like he was now; he seemed to be normal with other girls.

"Um, okay, I'll just be quiet," he folded his hands on his lap and side glanced at the attractive girl sitting by him. At least she didn't kick him out like last time.

If only she had a motorcycle, she could drive herself to school rather than subject herself to these childish, garrulous monkeys. Their noisy babbling about their respective summer vacations really wasn't something she had looked forward to hearing.

When they finally arrived, Natsuki silently thanked whatever higher deity there was. The bus had become so cramped that Takeda had to scoot even closer to her so that another person could be squeezed onto the bus. Her personal bubble was hazardously invaded and she was within a few seconds from getting off the bus to walk to school herself.

She flung her messenger bag over her shoulder and coolly walked out from the bus. Walking with whatever dignity left in her, she was determined to still maintain her cold exterior despite her ridiculous clothing. It clashed heavily with the reputation she preceded.

"Kuga-san, wait for me," Takeda cried out. Unlike Natsuki, who shoved through the other kids, he was left behind, trapped by the many other students. Feeling a bit generous today, she stopped and waited for him. The boy was even more tanned than he seemed at her birthday party. His dark green hair was neatly parted to one side, something his mother probably did for him. When he finally caught up, the two walked together to their class. To Natsuki's misfortune, Takeda was in every single class with her.

"So, what did you do this summer," he asked trying to make small talk. His heart beat even faster since their hands were centimeters from touching. The truth was he loved Natsuki. He did not expect himself to fall for the bad girl, but that might only because he was a tenuous, good boy. With good grades and kind nature, he was known to be a teacher's pet and momma's boy. Two things that especially miffed the blue haired girl.

"Nothing," Natsuki lied. Why should she have to share her personal life with the weirdo anyway?

"That's cool; I went to America with my parents. I went to Hollywood and saw a lot of celebrities," of course he was lying about the last part. The celebrities he saw were actually wax duplicates in a museum. His time in California would explain his drastic skin tone change. Natsuki had heard that it was pretty sunny there. Ganguro modeled themselves after those beach girls after all.

Natsuki nodded, feeling indifferent to anything that the boy tried to make sound fascinating. When the two finally arrived at their classroom, she distanced herself from him and made her way to her secluded seat in the corner. Unwilling to separate just yet, Takeda decided to take a seat by her. Her fellow classmates started to swarm into the homeroom, and she noticed how some had changed greatly over the summer. Some had gotten haircuts, some had grown taller, some fatter, the list went on.

A couple of her classmates had stared at her attire when they walked in. They made sure not to laugh, though, in fear that they might get beaten up after school. Kuga Natsuki was not someone to mess with.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Class is about to begin. I hope you all enjoy where you're sitting because that's where you'll be sitting for next couple of weeks," instructed a clear, yet stern voice. It was their teacher Yamano-sensei, a beautiful 30 year old teacher that all the students adored. She was kind, but knew how to handle her students. Her class was one of the few that had hardly any problems. That would probably be because the boys all had small crushes on their stunning sensei while the girls all admired Yamano's ability to control her students. Natsuki groaned at her teachers words because now Takeda was really stuck to her forever, or at least until the year ended.

Yamano-sensei walked down the aisle passing out a new curriculum for the semester. When she passed Natsuki, her amber eyes immediately noted the pink dress. She did not chuckle at the unexpected outfit, but smiled warmly and complimented, "That's a beautiful dress, Natsuki-chan."

Natsuki flushed at her teacher's comment, she had completely forgotten she was wearing the atrocity.

* * *

"I hate you," After almost half a day of not seeing her owner, Natsuki was finally home. She had hurled the door open, and gave Shizuru the nastiest glare she could. 

"Welcome home, Natsuki, how was your day?" the elegant doll replied with a delightful grin.

"You want to know my day? It's thanks to you that I was greeted by everyone today with 'that's a cute dress' or 'Natsuki-chan should wear pink more often' or my favorite 'Natsuki-chan is so pretty in pink!'" she imitated her peer's voices, changing pitches with each new quote. She chucked her messenger bag at the mischievous older girl, who was pummeled by the incoming object.

"Mou, but Natsuki really was pretty – "

"Oh shut up, I hate you," she bristled. Natsuki quickly grabbed the clothes she intended to change into in the morning and stormed into the bathroom. Through the door, Shizuru could hear grumbles and the ruffles of the one piece being discarded onto the floor.

"You know," the blue haired girl opened the door forcefully, "my mom actually thinks that she turned me girlier. It's your entire fault, and guess what I hate you."

A bit apologetic about her cruel, cruel ploy, Shizuru snaked Duran into her arms and held out the dog plush in front of Natsuki.

"Oh Natsuki, don't hate Shizuru, she promises to make it up to you," the dog's nose was lightly pushed to caress the blue haired girl's.

"Hmph," was Natsuki's response and she turned her nose up in mock anger.

"Shizuru will help you on your homework for a whole month," the chestnut haired girl said pretending to be a ventriloquist for the Duran.

"Hmmm," the younger girl was still not satisfied. Dressing in a pink dress for the entire day was outright humiliating. Maybe not for her Kyoto counterpart, but for her it was absolute agony.

"Shizuru will do your homework for a whole month?" Shizuru tried again. Of course, she would never do the other girl's homework – cheating was something she would never condone.

"Uh," Natsuki looked up as though still waiting for a better offer.

"Natsuki, I'm sorry, what can I do to make it up to you?" the older girl was actually getting a bit worried that Natsuki wouldn't forgive her for that little embarrassment.

"First, promise that you'll never pull that stunt again. Second, I want you to help me on my homework for the remainder of year. And lastly, I… have a show and tell presentation next week and… well… do you think it'd be okay if I brought you?" Natsuki's voice grew softer and quicker at that last part. She avoided those ruby irises. There were two reasons that she would make such a request. First was that with a large doll, Shizuru could easily occupy that space on the bus and she'd have someone interesting to actually talk to. Second was that after the show and tell was a test, and she wanted to Shizuru to help her cheat a bit. Obviously, the blue haired girl wouldn't let the older girl know that, but Shizuru did owe her after what she did.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru was taken back at the final request. Her previous worries about losing Natsuki to other and more real girls dissolved like a sugar cube in tea. She nodded her head happily; her owner was always full of surprises.

"Great, let's start on homework!" Natsuki wasn't the one to stay on touchy subjects for long. She desperately changed the topic before Shizuru did something weird like hug her or say something mushy. Together, the two girls worked to conquer man's evil creation known as homework.

* * *

"9:30," Mutsumi said. She was alone in the living room, her hands clenched tightly at the edges of today's newspaper. The fragile paper easily bent under her strength. Ryo was once again late, and with each day, her husband's time outside their house seemed to grow longer. 

The front door finally creaked open slowly and Mutsumi could smell a wonderful perfume clinging to his business clothing. His exterior coat was in his arms, and Ryo stumbled into the house rather than walking in stylishly as he usually did.

"Ryo," Mutsumi said adamantly folding the newspaper and setting it to the side.

"Mutsumi," he said smiling as he removed his shoes and placed them in the shoebox.

"Do you have any idea – "

"It's only eight – "

"Actually it's nine-thirty," she growled coldly as she indicated the clock that hung in the living room. Ryo unintentionally slammed the door behind him loud enough so that a certain eight year old upstairs could hear.

"Daddy's home! He's home late today. You know, Fujino, daddy always has these big assignments at work. He's a really busy man, secret missions?" When it came to her father, Natsuki looked at him as a hero. Shizuru, on the other hand, was not so convinced by Ryo's chivalry. She beat Natsuki to the door, and blocked the younger girl's exit to see her father.

"What are you doing Fujino? Get out of my way!" she exclaimed. She hadn't seen her father in the past couple of days, and yearned to talk to him. She missed their father daughter conversations, but these past weeks had been especially busy for him. Natsuki accepted that fact and respected her father, so she let it slide. But now when her father was finally home, her doll was interfering with that special time.

"Natsuki, isn't your favorite cartoon on? Why don't we take a break and watch that and your father will come up later and talk to you like usual?" Shizuru suggested nervously. There was a particular reason why she didn't want Natsuki to go downstairs. Even in her appearance as a doll, she could still hear, and during the past couple of days she had certainly heard some interesting things coming rom below.

The blue haired girl squint her eyes at Shizuru and looked at her suspiciously. The chestnut haired girl seemed honestly reluctant about letting her go downstairs. However, it was true that her father was probably going to come upstairs later. She gave into Shizuru's suggestion and walked toward the TV located by Shizuru's sofa in the room; Natsuki was a sucker for the electronic babysitter.

"Geez, Mutsumi, I'm an hour late and suddenly you become so anal," Ryo said defensively. A month ago, Ryo would've apologized for his unpunctuality and would kiss Mutsumi tenderly on the lips.

"Ryo, I don't mind if you do _that_ every month or so, but really, everyday? It's insulting, especially when I know what you're doing. I'm being lenient on your behavior and – "

"Behavior? God, Mutsumi, what am I, your goddamn child? The only reason why you know what's happening is because you snoop around all the time," he accused tossing his jacket carelessly on the sofa. During these past years, Mutsumi would admit that their relationship was not as strong as it once was. Their marriage had started off as one of love; a pair of young college students that married as soon as they finished their respective universities. They were a youthful couple that had fallen in love at first sight and with that basis gotten married and had a child. They had dated and had their fair share of love, but apparently it had easily been destroyed the longer they stayed together. She was annoyed by his unwillingness to help make Natsuki more feminine along with various other habits while he was sick of her pompous and bossy attitude.

"Don't you dare make it seem like you're the victim, I'm the one – I'm the wife that hears whispers from her friends about what you've been doing. Do you think I'd seriously not know?" she was hurt; this was not the perfect life that she had once planned. With all her might, she fought back the tears that began to pool at the bottom of her eyes. She would not show weakness to such an boorish man.

Ryo sighed, no matter how much he thought he was justified in his actions, he hated to see his wife cry. It was one of his biggest weaknesses. He didn't want to argue with his wife, but he had a temper that once unleashed had a hard time ending. He inhaled a great gulp of air and released it –a method his anger management coach once taught him to relax. Walking over, he opened his arms to embrace his wife.

"Mutsumi I-I'm sorry. I…" he had a difficult time apologizing, even when it was obviously his fault. Mutsumi, however, did not want to allow those strong arms to wrap them on her body, but for some reason she did. She wiped any left over tears on her husband's blouse, which still had an intoxicating aroma to it. Uneasy with the sudden affection, she gently pushed her husband away from her.

"Go see, Natsuki, she's missed you a great deal these couple days," and with that the older female Kuga strolled to the kitchen to prepare Ryo's dinner.

"Haha, I can't believe he walked straight into that trap," Natsuki was musing as a certain character had just calmly strolled into a net trap. The two characters were competing to reach a goal in a race, and had been using devious tricks to stop the other from winning. In a way, it reminded the blue haired girl of her relationship with Shizuru. She turned her head to the doll, who stared at the television in horror. The elegant girl did not seem to appreciate the same hilarity as Natsuki. Then again, perhaps watching a person getting blown up was not as fascinating to the Kyoto girl as it was for the emerald eyed girl.

There was a patterned knock, an idiosyncratic way of knocking that only her father did. She turned off the television and quickly ran to open the door. And surely there was Kuga Ryo looking at his daughter.

"Hello princess," he said taking his daughter into his arms.

"Daddy," she said in a relieved voice and embraced her father's neck tightly.

"I'm not going to be able to breathe if you do that," he said chuckling. Natsuki immediately pulled away when she heard that and looked at her father in the eyes. He leaned and kissed her on the forehead affectionately. It was during these times that Mutsumi remembered the kind hearted man that she had married. At the bottom of the stairs, she observed Ryo's love toward his daughter and sighed thankfully that at least he loved his daughter. Shizuru, in a similar fashion, admired the relationship between father and daughter. It almost made her miss…

"How was your day sweetie?" he asked in a way to spark a conversation that Takeda would never be able to. He put her down since he knew that despite how much of princess she was to him, Natsuki hated to be carried.

"Better, it's much better," she said, "after a day of pink dresses, annoying Takeda, and noisy classmates, I feel much better."

"Pink dress?" Ryo asked raising a curious eyebrow.

"Don't ask. You should get to dinner, I need to finish my homework," she said. She figured that her father must be tired and hungry after a hard day's work and decided to not occupy any more of his time. This brief interaction was enough for her; it made her glad that her father still cared about her.

"Thank you, sweetie," he mouthed and kissed her once more before departing to eat the leftovers of today's dinner.

For some reason, the rapport between Ryo and Natsuki made Shizuru feel even better about her precious fears. Natsuki did not seem like the person that would easily forget someone close to her. She still had a couple of months to get closer to Natsuki before it was time. When Natsuki reentered, she saw the strange smile on Shizuru's face and asked, "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing," Shizuru replied shaking her head. "Let's go finish that assignment, and go watch more of your violent cartoons."

Author's Note: Holy, my chapters seem to get longer each time T.T sorry about that. If I made any grammatical errors please tell me asap, so I can correct them. Winter vacation is finally here, and I am free! I think it's easy to infer what's happening between Mutsumi and Ryo, but if it isn't don't worry it'll be cleared up later. I put some hints in this chapter to what will happen later on the story. I'm a bit upset that I got behind schedule so I couldn't put up Shizuru's birthday chapter and the Christmas chapter on their accurate dates. Ah... I seemed to have made a lot of things happen at once, sorry bout that haha. Anywho, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and happy holidays yay! Next Chapter: the show and tell


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters that belong to Sunrise...

Chapter 7:

"Fujino? Fujino, can I turn around yet?" Natsuki was busily tapping her foot away as she waited for her doll to finish changing. Her arms were crossed to emphasize her annoyance at the time it took Shizuru to change. The day for show and tell had finally arrived and Shizuru wanted to look especially nice for the occasion.

"Hm, not this one either." The doll tilted her head as she studied herself in the mirror. Unlike Natsuki, who finished dressing in a minute or so, Shizuru took the time to make sure her outfit was absolute perfection. And because of this slight obsession, Natsuki's nagging was not in the least bit effective. In fact, it was as though the chestnut haired girl had not even heard her owner's words.

Natsuki heard some rustling and automatically assumed that Shizuru was once again changing. She gritted her teeth and a low growl emitted from her throat. It would be the fourth time the Kyoto girl felt unsatisfied with her dress and the fifth time she'd try something else on. Natsuki wondered just how many different pieces the box came with.

Hands on hips, Shizuru turned her body so that she could get a better view of the dress she was wearing. It was the same scarlet one-piece that she wore when she first met Natsuki, and that memory alone gave Shizuru the perfect motive to wear the outfit. However, its sentimental factor was not the only reason why she'd chosen the crimson garment. The color was beautiful and complemented her eyes. It easily added to her air of sophistication, and the silky material felt comfortable and familiar. She loved the style, and chuckled to herself that she should've realized to choose it earlier.

"Honestly Fujino, if you're not done, my mom's going to – "

"I'm done," the chestnut haired girl said, twirling to face the back of the younger girl. Finally able to see her friend, Natsuki turned and raised an eyebrow at Shizuru's choice of clothing.

"It took you this long just to pick something you've worn before?" Despite her flippant comment, Natsuki had to admit that she liked the dress too. Her doll looked beautiful in it, not that she would ever say that aloud.

Shizuru's eyebrows furrowed at the comment, and then returned her attention to the mirror. Her neck area was bare – a ruby pendant would be perfect to match her dress. Squatting by her box, she dug around to see if accessories were also a part of the package.

"Oi, what are you doing? Aren't you done dressing? I'm going to be – "

"Kuga Natsuki! What is taking you so long? Hurry up, the bus is going to leave soon!" echoed her mother's voice.

"See, you're going to make me late. C'mon!" Grabbing her doll's arm, she ran to her desk to link her own arm through the messenger bag's strap. With both objects in hand, she flung open her door and rushed downstairs. Surprised by the sudden interruption, Shizuru gasped in shock. As soon as Natsuki left the room, her friend had changed back into her doll form, and for good reason; she was lighter in that form.

"Natsuki, don't run down the stairs. Your father is still sleeping," her mother chided softly. Natsuki's actions tended to become more impetuous when she was rushed. Mutsumi handed her daughter today's bentou and did her customary kiss on her daughter's cheek. And just as the kiss on the cheek was a daily routine, so was the younger Kuga's act of wiping off the kiss. The eight year old waved goodbye to her mother, and once the front door was shut, Natsuki put Shizuru gently on the ground.

"I am not going to carry you all the way to the bus stop. It'd be faster if we both ran there." But before Shizuru had any time to complain that her outfit wasn't designed for running, her owner was already a couple meters away from her. Not wanting to make Natsuki late, she lifted her skirt slightly off the ground, and with black high heels ran as fast as she could.

The sound of clicking was becoming louder, and the blue haired girl turned her head to see what exactly was creating the infernal sound. Seeing the source, Natsuki wanted to burst out laughing. The sight of Shizuru struggling to run in her frilly, lacy attire was just too amusing for the blue haired girl. Loose chestnut strands had fallen untidily onto the porcelain face of the doll, and Shizuru could feel the backs of her heels cutting into her ankles. A bit sympathetic to her doll's pain, since Natsuki had had horrible experiences with running in a dress, the blue haired girl stopped and smirked at her doll.

"Natsuki, we're going to be late." Though she did sound a bit breathless, Shizuru did her best not to pant. A lady never pants.

"Relax Fujino, the bus stop is right there," the blue haired girl replied, pointing to a crowd of people just a couple feet away. Still smiling, Natsuki and Shizuru then walked together side by side toward the group of chattering children.

"They won't see or hear you, right?" Natsuki asked cautiously, just in case Shizuru's magic applied differently to children.

"All they'll see is me being held in your arms," Shizuru replied, reassuring the blue haired girl –though Natsuki wondered just how the illusion would appear to the other kids. Would she be carrying Shizuru nestled in her arms, securing and embracing the doll fondly? Or perhaps she would be seen dragging the doll on the ground. Natsuki hoped it would be something like the latter.

Once within sight, Natsuki's doll did not go unnoticed. A courageous, or perhaps dumb, girl even took the initiative to compliment Shizuru.

"That's a really pretty doll, Natsuki-chan." It was the same pigtailed girl who always spoke to her in the morning. Shizuru beamed at the comment and gave the chubby stranger a delightful thank you.

"Oh shut up," Natsuki said, glaring at her doll. She had meant to say it to Shizuru, but at the moment completely forgot that she was the only one who could see Shizuru. The pigtailed girl only looked at Natsuki in confusion. How could someone be so cruel after receiving a compliment? The chubby girl retreated slowly and regrouped with her own friends.

"Ara, Natsuki scared away the nice girl," Shizuru said to her owner, who was diligently eyeing the road for any sign of the bus. The bus soon came and Natsuki quickly made her way to the front of the line. Shizuru stared with mild enjoyment as her owner pushed and shoved to ensure that they'd be in the front. Quietly, she walked and excused herself past the people that could not see her presence.

Already seated down by the emergency exit area, Natsuki looked up at her doll and patted the spot next to her. Sweeping the bottom of her dress, Shizuru sat by the icy girl.

"Waa," she mused as she looked at her surroundings, "It's been a while since I…" As though something suddenly popped into her mind, she cut herself off again.

"Since what? You always do that. Why don't you ever finish what you're going to say?" the blue haired girl asked, somewhat annoyed. This act of starting something then cutting it off was something the older girl tended to do. What did it matter if she just said what she wanted to say?

"Since I… was able to help Natsuki with an assignment," the older girl completed, putting on her best pseudo-smile. The emerald eyed girl nodded after a second, agreeing to her doll's comment; it had indeed been a while. The bus let out exhaust before closing its doors. Their adventure had begun.

"When do I get to meet Takeda-kun?" Shizuru asked, starting up a conversation with her seat partner. She had heard oodles about this persistent boy and wanted to see his attempts at wooing her owner in real life. The stories had made her curious, and her curiosity began to grow and swell like a malicious tumor. In fact, it was just as deadly. Shizuru just liked to listen to her owner torment a suitor, if you could call him that.

Natsuki growled, "At least today he can't sit by me…"

"Hey, Natsuki-chan." It was a boy that was sitting in the seat in front of the two girls. His hair seemed to be bleached, since it contrasted with his brown eyebrows. His eyes were slanted and so small that it was hard to make out the lavender irises. His nose was tall and angular like a Western person's. By the way he spoke, the mysterious boy gave the impression of superiority.

"Who are you talking to? It's creepy to see you talk to yourself," he snickered and the other boy next to him joined in. "Or maybe you're talking to your doll? I thought you were tougher than that, Natsuki-chan." He threw his head back, laughing as though it was the funniest thing ever. The blonde boy even emphasized the "chan" in a higher pitch to provoke Natsuki.

Just as Natsuki raised her balled fist to teach the boy a lesson, Shizuru reached out to hold the clenched hand within her own.

"Don't," the doll warned. "You're better than he is. Don't waste your time with his childishness." Pulling out of the older girl's grip, Natsuki then gave the deadliest glare she could to the boy. Oh how she wanted to break his smirking face. The boy only scoffed and fell back into his seat. A bit frustrated with her choice of action, Natsuki stared outside the window to help relieve some of her anger.

* * *

"Good morning, Ku – " Takeda's eyes widened when he saw that an inanimate object had taken his usual place next to Natsuki. This caught Natsuki's attention, and she turned to see the perplexed boy's face. 

"W-what's that?" He stumbled with his words. Takeda was in disbelief that his beautiful ice princess actually owned a doll. It didn't necessarily ruin his image of her, but rather showed that the cool girl had a soft side, a girly side.

"Show and tell, remember? She's my great-great-grandmother's doll, a possessed doll that we Kugas have the duty of watching over so that her soul doesn't come out and kill innocent people." The blue haired girl was proud of her explanation. After days of rehearsing a plausible excuse for carrying Shizuru, she decided that this would be the perfect one. There had been a rumor in Japan some time ago that there was a temple for such possessed dolls. The azure haired girl figured that it would fit the mystifying beauty of her doll.

"Oh, that's cool. My dad's going to bring in his kendo equipment and talk about it," the tanned boy explained. The school would never let him bring his father's shinai in – it was considered a weapon.

"You're bringing your dad to show and tell?" the blue haired girl did not know that they were allowed to bring their parents. If this was the case, she would have asked her father instead. Not that Natsuki didn't like Shizuru, but it'd mean more quality time with her father. The bus shifted into gear, and Takeda found himself lunging forward due to Newton's second law of motion. He wasn't hurt, but knew that he had embarrassed himself in front of his crush. There weren't any seats available around his beloved, so he had to go sit way in the back of the bus.

"Glad that's over," Natsuki said, leaning back against the bus's stale, russet chair.

"He seems like a polite boy…"

"Polite? Not nice? Do I sense a hint of dislike?" Natsuki grinned. _Good, because I don't like him much either._

"So I'm a possessed doll?" the chestnut haired girl teased to change the topic. The corners of Natsuki's cherry lips curved even more into a satisfactory grin.

"Isn't that what you are?" Natsuki retorted.

"Whose soul comes out and kills unless under the protection of a Kuga?" Deciding to be a bit more mischievous today, the doll then snuggled up to her owner. "Do stop me, oh great Kuga-sama."

"Shut up," was Natsuki's only answer, in which she allowed the strange girl continue lean on her. Although surprised by Natsuki's allowance of this invasion of personal space, Shizuru had no intention of removing herself. The two girls spent the rest of the time on the bus relaxing and enjoying the outside view.

* * *

"Class, I know you're all eager to begin Show and Tell, but can anyone tell me of its importance?" Yamano-sensei was leaning against her desk, which was located in the front middle of the class. 

"To show off and see who has the best stuff!" a student in the back exclaimed. The class roared with laughter, and even Yamano-sensei smiled.

"Miyazaki-san is our class clown," Natsuki whispered to Shizuru, who was uncomfortably squatting under her owner's desk.

"Had I known where I was going to be placed, I wouldn't have worn my favorite dress, Natsuki." The poor doll was cramped somewhere between the chair in front of Natsuki and her owner's chair. At least the blue haired girl had had the decency to swing her legs to the side of the chair so that Shizuru had more room.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Fujino. Maybe after we're done I'll set you on the counter over there." Natsuki pointed to where various other students' items had been placed. A tank with a frog, a jar with a dead tarantula, two Chinese fans…yes, Shizuru really wanted to be there.

"Thank you Kohei-kun, but no that's not the point of Show and Tell. In fact, it's a fun way of working on our public speaking skills. I know this is probably everyone's first time with Show and Tell, and some of you may be nervous, but don't worry. Just tell us why you brought the item, where you got it, and any other special things you want to say," Yamano-sensei gave another proud smile to her class, but there was no response. She bowed her head in slight embarrassment, and to captivate her students' attention once more, she jokingly asked, "I must be boring you guys with the details, huh?"

There was a mixed answer from the class. Half went "no" and the other said something along the lines of "yes."

"Well then, let's start showing off and telling why the items we brought are the best." And thus a wave of enthusiastic cheering came from the students.

"Akino Sakura, you're first." Yamano-sensei was apparently going to go in alphabetical order. A shy girl in the back went to the counter and took the tank with the frog. The container seemed a bit too big for such a frail girl to carry, so she wobbled back and forth as she made her way up to the front.

"H-hi, I'm A-Akino S-Sakura, and this is Ken-chan," she stuttered, while proudly extending both arms so that everyone could see the transparent tank. The inside was decorated with copious amounts of greenery and rocks. She had attempted to create a jungle-like environment for her amphibian. The brownish green frog basked on a rock, its air pocket filling then deflating.

"That's pretty cool, huh Fujino. I didn't expect Akino-san to own a frog!" Natsuki excitedly stated. When her desk started to shake, Natsuki looked under the desk only to find Shizuru covering her eyes and shaking in fear, or perhaps disgust.

"Fujino, you don't like frogs?" the blue haired girl asked. She had learnt another interesting fact about her elegant friend.

"Those vile, dirty vermin that live in swamps? No, thank you," replied the older girl, who still refused to look up. After the obvious interest in Ken-chan, Sakura grew more confident and lost her stutter. The shy carmine haired girl eagerly told how she found the pet while hiking with her parents. Not only had Sakura conquered her fear of public speaking, but she also astonished her peers with her love of the outdoors. Because Sakura was always so timid, people automatically assumed that she was a girl who spent her free time reading indoors. After her performance, she did a quick bow and returned to her seat while the class applauded deafeningly.

* * *

"Kuga Natsuki," rang Yamano-sensei's harmonious voice. After around ten showcases of different items, it was finally the blue haired girl's turn. Curious whispers about why Natsuki had a doll spread around the room. Crawling out from her spot, Shizuru dusted off her dress. The older girl looked at her fervent owner and as they walked together to the front whispered, "Let's do our best." 

Whilst Shizuru sat on Yamano-sensei's desk, one leg crossed over the other, Natsuki dimmed the class's lights so as to create a haunted atmosphere.

"I'm sure you've all heard the story of the doll Chrysanthemum," Natsuki started, grinning as she saw some students shudder at the name and others cover their ears. "For those who don't, I'll make this short. One day, a father brought home for his daughter a beautiful doll that he had bought in the East. She loved the doll and named it Chrysanthemum. One day, she noticed a strange glint in the doll's eyes and begged her mother to discard it. Her mother agreed since she was not fond of dolls. The next day, when the girl woke up… the doll was right there on her table." There was a gasp from the class. Almost everyone had heard the myth of Chrysanthemum. It was creepy and brought chills down their spines.

"The girl's mother's body was found in the very dumpster that the doll was thrown into. Now there was a malicious smile on the doll's face. Scared of the doll, the girl told her father to throw it into the fire and hopefully that'd destroy it." Natsuki paused to create suspense. She glanced at Shizuru, who was also a bit freaked out by the story. _Now why would she be scared, she's a possessed doll…_

"They were wrong. The house was consumed in flames and the daughter and father both burnt to death. A monk passed by that day and, seeing the doll, picked it up. It was in perfect condition, but the monk sensed evil in it. He brought it to the Doll Temple and placed it with the hundreds of other dolls that were possessed. If you go into it, you can hear the cries and screams of the dolls. Their hair and fingernails grow like a real human's. Now, it is said that families, special families, were chosen long ago to be carriers of these dolls. They were to care for them so that the soul of the doll would not come out and kill innocent people," Natsuki then went and turned the lights on again. Half the class had their eyes closed shut, while the other half found that they were morbidly fascinated by the story and couldn't stop themselves from listening.

"The Kuga family was chosen as one of these protectors, and this," Natsuki stood behind the desk so that Shizuru could now become the main source of attention, "is the doll that has been passed down many generations. Fuji – "

"Don't use my real name, Natsuki," the doll pleaded, hoping that Natsuki would listen to her.

"Fujiwara Shizuka," Natsuki introduced, and at that moment some girls screamed. They shouted nonsense about their imminent death.

"I… I don't believe you," said a boy from the back of the class. He stood up, bringing attention to himself. Natsuki raised an eyebrow at the disbeliever.

"Oh?" she pondered.

"Y-you don't have any proof. Plus, that story's only a myth," he stated a bit more boldly now. A couple of the other students started to agree with this boy and looked at Natsuki to see what she would do.

"Is that so? Would you like me to prove it then that this doll is truly possessed?" Shizuru glanced at Natsuki with widened eyes. No one could actually see her in this human form, so what trick did Natsuki have up her sleeve?

"Fine!" the boy challenged and went to the front of the desk. Yamano-sensei wasn't sure if she should interfere, but decided to let the display happen. If it started to get too out of hand, she would stop it. But to be honest, she too was a bit curious about what Natsuki was going to do.

"Whisper a number from one to ten in her ear. I'll be over there," she pointed to a somewhat distant area. Though not too far, it was a place where surely even someone with incredible hearing wouldn't be able to distinguish mere whispering. Feeling a bit worried that she'd taken it too far, she walked by Shizuru who sat amused on the table. The chance that Natsuki could guess the correct number like that was one in ten, so Shizuru hoped that the class would think of it as chance rather than her being a real haunted doll that could kill people. To reassure her owner, she winked and watched as Natsuki walked away.

The boy stood alone with the doll and wondered just what number to pick. Leaning down, he whispered into Shizuru's ear, "208." It was his birthday, but the important thing was that he did not follow the rules. He purposely said something out of the range, and it infuriated Shizuru. He stepped away from the doll and nodded to the blue haired girl. Natsuki then walked back to perform her stunt.

"So what number did he say?" she asked the doll.

"That boy cheated! He said a number outside of one to ten. In fact it was a number outside of one hundred!" Shizuru was enraged that someone would try to trick her Natsuki. Natsuki looked at the boy who was whistling innocently and waiting for her answer.

"Yeah, but what's the number?" Natsuki asked again. She'd show him.

"208," the doll said, still a bit upset.

"Thanks Fujino, I owe you," Natsuki said, grateful that her doll would be able to help spook her class after all.

"Don't you mean Fujiwara Shizuka?" Shizuru teased, at which Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"That was some unfair play, Onizuka," Natsuki said sharply, reflecting her doll's irritation, "you picked 208 when I specifically said to pick a number from one to ten."

Suddenly, the boy's eyes widened in horror. While stepping back, he stumbled over his own feet and fell to the floor. He pointed to the doll with his right index finger as his body trembled.

"No way, you couldn't have… that's… impossible." As soon as confirmation of the right number became known, some more students screamed. The students, however, were starting to get a bit out of hand. They threw apprehensive looks at Shizuru, who felt a bit uncomfortable with all the students fearing her. As though reading her doll's mind, Natsuki sighed and decided to make a lie.

"Calm down, Onizuka. It's obvious that you'd pick that number since you always advertise your birthday." Which was more or less true. The boy really did like telling everyone his birthday so that he could get presents. The class stopped their panicking, relieved. Yamano-sensei, on the other hand, continued to study the doll.

"Right, I knew that," the boy said, rubbing the back of his head. He rushed back to his seat after embarrassing himself.

"That's all, Yamano-sensei. Thank you," Natsuki finished and gave a respectful bow. Shizuru had now turned into her doll form, so Natsuki was able to envelop the doll in her arms.

"That was fun. We were definitely the best performance," the blue haired girl whispered cheerfully. She was able to freak out the class as she planned. Whether or not her classmates would really think her doll was possessed didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was that Shizuru was someone Natsuki could identify as a trusted friend, a person more than a really good acquaintance. Perhaps she should get to know her doll more when they returned home.

* * *

Takeda's Show and Tell was rather impressive, but only because his father was a professional kendo swordsman. In fact, the older Takeda brought in medals and trophies of all his victories. However, his armor was rather smelly, and all the people in the front row had to cover their noses. At first glance, it was easy to tell that Takeda was indeed this man's son. They had the same black hair and facial structure. The only differences were the eye color and that Takeda was a frail weakling. The boy seemed to look at his father with admiration, and Natsuki thought to herself what kind of person wouldn't look up to their father? Takeda's father demonstrated different types of moves, giving the older Takeda a chance to show off his swordsmanship skills. The most entertaining aspect of this lesson was at the end. 

"I'm going to let you guys in on a little surprise," the older man smiled while tossing his tied hair over his shoulder. Takeda looked at his father in bewilderment as well, since this was not part of the planned performance.

"Masashi," the older tanned man said, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, "kendo has been the family's sport for many generations. And now would be the time for you to start your kendo training."

"What?" Takeda's eyes enlarged in shock. While he did find appeal in the sport, he had never planned on participating in it. And why would he? He was fragile and had no endurance for sports.

"That's right." the older man bent down so that he was eye leveled with his son. He held the shinai and gestured as though passing it down to him. "You will continue our legacy."

The class wanted to laugh, but knew it would be rude. Natsuki especially felt the uncontrollable urge to burst out, but the father was still there and this was a unique moment for the father and son. Takeda gulped but accepted the shinai, which was too long and heavy for him to hold. After their performance, the older Takeda took his equipment and departed. Following a couple more performances was the dreadful test that everyone had hoped would be delayed.

The eight year old's plan for Shizuru to help her cheat didn't seem to work either. After her presentation, Shizuru had yet to turn back into her humanized form. It'd be useless communicating to Shizuru in this state since she'd remain unresponsive anyway. The test was rather difficult, but Natsuki had studied somewhat assiduously for it yesterday. Television would forever remain a horrendous distraction. After doing the test, many students complained to Yamano-sensei about its difficulty, to which she gently smiled and said, "Wasn't it great!"

After school had ended, Takeda decided to single Natsuki out and talk to her.

"I can't believe my father is going to let me learn kendo." He was more excited at the news than fretful now.

"That's great," the blue haired girl said sarcastically, taking Shizuru in her arms since the older girl seemed not to be in the mood to become human.

"That doll… I believe what you said. I think she really is possessed," he said, pointing at Shizuru, whose red eyes seemed to be piercing his own dull ones.

"Thanks, I think," she replied, unsure. Just before she left the classroom and went her own way to the bus stop, she looked at the black haired boy and said, "Good luck in kendo."

It was the one of the few positive things that the icy girl had ever said to him, and he felt as though his presence was beginning to thaw Natsuki's cold heart. He beamed, and that one little piece of encouragement suddenly made him feel on top of the world.

"NATSUKI, YOU'RE MINE!" he shouted ecstatically.

* * *

"Thanks for today, I never knew how invigorating it could be to scare the class like that." The two girls were back in Natsuki's room. They were lying on the bed talking to each other. As soon as the blue haired girl stepped into her den, the doll had conveniently turned into the talking girl. 

"You're welcome, though you risked a lot. What if they had somehow figured out that I was a '_possessed doll' _as you said I was?" Shizuru wondered.

"Would anything happen?" Natsuki questioned, in case there was a consequence to people figuring out that Shizuru could actually come to life.

"I'd be kidnapped by evil doers. Studied in a laboratory until forced to reveal my truth," Shizuru giggled at her own imaginative words.

"Really?" Natsuki gritted her teeth; she couldn't stand the thought of someone stealing her doll.

"And what would you do, all-mighty protector Kuga?" The older girl was starting to have fun with the hypothetical situation.

"Let them take you and live happily ever." The blue haired girl smiled when she saw Shizuru grimace at her words. Even during a joke, Shizuru seemed to take her words seriously.

"I'm just kidding. I'd kill them, duh," though she left out the very important part of rescuing her doll. The older girl smiled at Natsuki's comment; there was still one thing on her mind.

"About Fujiwara Shizuka…" the sandy haired girl started.

"I made it up off the top of my head!"

"It sounds so familiar, no similar, to something… what could it be?" the older girl taunted.

"Duh, your name: Fujino Shizuru," the blue haired girl stated as a matter of fact.

"Say that last word again, Natsuki?" Shizuru requested as she closed her eyes.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki replied in minor puzzlement; did the other girl not know her own name? Perhaps she had grown fond of the alias.

"Hm, I like it. Why don't you start calling me that, Natsuki?" The older girl now had one crimson orb peeking at the emerald eyed girl. The younger girl was taken aback by this suggestion. It had not occurred to her that Shizuru would have preferred to be called by her first name. By doing so, Natsuki would acknowledge a close relationship with the other girl. It meant that she would trust her and considered her as a friend. After so many days of being with each other, Shizuru seemed to fit just that part.

"Shizuru," the blue haired girl tested the name as she once did when she first met the doll. It was nice. Then, Natsuki smiled at Shizuru, the kindest and most genuine smile that the older girl had ever seen her owner exhibit.

"Thank you for today, Shizuru."

Author's Note: Whoo... the story of Chrysanthemum was actually one that I heard from my afterschool teacher a long time ago... whether or not there is really a temple for dolls like that I'm not sure... She claimed that she went on to one in Japan, but... ah who knows. 'Twas a fun chapter writing and I hope you enjoyed it. Super extra special thanks to my beta Olivia for everything!! Next chapter will include a cake and candles... sorta. I sense a birthday...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own what belongs to Sunrise... AND I NEVER WILL T.T

Chapter 8:

Leaning forward so she could view the outside scenery, Shizuru exhaled against the window pane until a cloud of visible condensation fogged up the glass and obstructed her view. The sun's eminent position in the west, as well as the slight drop in temperature, informed the girl that it was around late afternoon. It was a Friday, and like most Fridays, Shizuru would patiently wait by the window, scanning for any presence of her cobalt-haired companion. After much trial and error, the doll had finally memorized the approximate time Natsuki would return home. So when the stubborn girl still had not returned by this time, an automatic pang of worry seized the older girl. What if something bad happened to Natsuki? What if her precious friend was kidnapped? What if – during her brief moment of anxiety, Shizuru had rushed and flung open the door to Natsuki's room. She was about to dash down the stairs to question Mutsumi as to the whereabouts of her daughter when she realized the attempt would be futile. She was, in Mutsumi's eyes, just a doll; Natsuki's mother would never be able to hear her fears.

Standing motionless by the blue-haired girl's door, Shizuru noticed that apart from Natsuki's room, not a single light in the house was turned on. This was, in fact, a rather strange occurrence because usually Natsuki's mother would be downstairs preparing dinner or reading the paper. Either way, the older woman would be doing something that would require illumination, so why were all the lights turned off?

_Kuga-san must not be home_, Shizuru told herself as she walked back to her den of comfort and security. _If Kuga-san isn't home, then she must be doing something with Natsuki. _And then it hit her; a couple days earlier, Natsuki had mentioned something about going off to do some "official" business with her mother. While the younger girl did not reveal exactly what she was going to do, Shizuru knew by Natsuki's avoidance of visual contact and crossed arms that it was something not to be pressed.

"_Oh, Shizuru, before I forget and you end up worrying about me, I'm probably going to go out with my mom this Friday," the blue-haired girl was busy writing something when the sudden remembrance came up._

"_Ara, where are you going? Spending some quality with your mother, that's rare. Another dress perhaps?" the older girl teased as she tried to glance over Natsuki's shoulder. The younger girl swatted at the intruding chestnut strands to prevent her doll from reading what she was writing._

"_Oi, stop it," Natsuki complained as she turned her paper over and stood up to stare face to face at her doll, who in return gave the impression of complete innocence._

"_And I'm not dress shopping." There was a slight pause as though the younger girl wasn't sure how to continue, "It's official business, top secret." Her eyes glanced nervously to the side, and Natsuki even crossed her arms to demonstrate slight insecurity about the topic. It wasn't something she wanted to discuss, at least at the moment. Shizuru tilted her head at this apprehensive look of Natsuki's and a sly smile unknowingly graced her lips._

"_What's with the smile?" the blue-haired girl inquired, making sure now to keep an extra careful eye on Shizuru. It was one of those, as Natsuki labeled, 'I'm going to do something evil' smiles that the older girl tended to wear before committing heinous crimes. Shizuru's grin widened at the sudden recognition that she was indeed smiling, which meant that she couldn't hide her deviousness any longer. Suddenly, the older girl lunged for the paper behind Natsuki, but somehow managed to trip over her own dress, falling flat on her face. The blue-haired girl roared with laughter as Shizuru rubbed her poor, injured nose._

Recalling the memory had caused Shizuru to unconsciously rub her nose. The sky was darkening and she figured it'd be a while before Natsuki returned from whatever she was doing. With nothing much else for her to do, the Kyoto doll decided to relax on her owner's soft bed.

It'd been a while now since the two of them first met. Shizuru often chuckled at the memory of when she first laid her eyes on her owner. The blue-haired girl was eagerly ripping at the wrapping paper and, trying to make her best impression, Shizuru put on her best smile. But as soon as Natsuki saw that her parents gave her a doll, those enthusiastic emerald orbs quickly altered into hate and disappointment. It wasn't exactly the fondest memory, but Shizuru would forever remember the image of her excited owner. Her first real encounter with the other girl wasn't as warm either, in which she remembered the hurtful words Natsuki had viciously thrown at her. With such a cold-hearted person as her possessor, Shizuru had wondered if she would ever see that genuinely happy expression again.

As time passed, however, Shizuru realized that the emerald-eyed girl wasn't that icy after all. Although the first couple of times it had been accidentally exposed, Shizuru was once again able to see a content smile on her owner's face. Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and Shizuru noticed how Natsuki began to freely express her emotions. The blue-haired girl grew more open with Shizuru, trusting the older girl to confide in and listen to her words. And, of course, Shizuru was in every way grateful for this because she had grown rather fond of the blue-haired girl.

Rolling over onto her side, the ruby-eyed girl reached over to obtain the small puppy plush. His beady black eyes seemed to brighten at the sudden attention.

"I wish Natsuki would come home already. I miss her," Shizuru whispered into the small, dark brown, floppy ear. Poor Duran, who was often left alone by himself, seemed to sympathize with his owner's new friend.

* * *

It was the week before Christmas, and the streets were busier than ever. Luckily for the two female Kugas, Japan had the convenience of subway stations that were interconnected with various malls. However, with the holiday soon approaching, these transit systems became flooded with people to the point that an overseeing officer had to push people into the cars. Due to her discomfort with large crowds, Mutsumi would usually never consider taking the subway, but she knew that it'd be much faster than the roads above. 

Walking beside her mother, Natsuki's eyes remained glued to the floor as the two walked together. The younger one seemed deep in thought, or so her mother thought. Mutsumi was actually surprised when her daughter came up to her, asking to be taken to the mall to buy some presents for her friends. It was, in fact, the first time that Natsuki had ever asked to go buy presents for someone other than herself, and Mutsumi felt a strange sense of adoration fill her. Her daughter had finally made friends – friends that Natsuki deemed worthy enough to actually buy gifts for. It made her curious because her stubborn daughter never mentioned any friends before. Unlike Ryo, whom Natsuki often discussed her daily life with, the older female Kuga was left with barely any knowledge of her daughter's life.

"So, how many presents do you plan on buying?" Mutsumi started. Her logic to the question was simple; whatever number her daughter replied would imply the amount of new friends Natsuki made.

"Just two," the blue haired girl replied, thinking about it for a second. The truth was that when Natsuki asked her mother to take her shopping, she had mentioned the plural "friends" because she knew it'd excite her mother. Mutsumi would then willingly grant her wishes, and Natsuki would be able to purchase those two presents.

The gifts were actually for Shizuru – one for her birthday, which was tomorrow, and one for Christmas. During the past week, Natsuki had been busily contemplating what to buy for her doll. While the two girls did exchange the things they enjoyed, the younger Kuga still found it difficult to think of the perfect present. In fact, she wanted tomorrow to be just perfect. It would be the first birthday she'd spent with her new friend, and Natsuki felt the urge to throw Shizuru the best birthday ever as a sort of thank you. Never in her young life did the blue-haired girl ever imagine making such a great friend. Their friendship warmed her heart, though Natsuki still remained a bit cold-hearted to her peers at school.

Staring up at the large, neon blue Keio sign, the younger girl felt a bit hesitant before going into the overcrowded mall. Mutsumi chuckled as she noticed her daughter nervously gulp, and laid her hand on Natsuki's shoulder as reassurance. Pushing Natsuki forward a bit, the two walked into the store to look at the directory.

"Which floor should we go to?" Natsuki's mother asked, trying to help her daughter with the oh-so-wonderful concept of shopping. It wasn't that Natsuki didn't enjoy shopping; in fact, she loved the toy and sports department in the mall. Standing on tip-toe, she studied the various stores that the Keio department store offered.

"Can we go to the seventh floor?" Natsuki asked shyly; it was the children's girl's clothing department. Giving her daughter a gentle smile, Mutsumi took her daughter's hand and led them to the elevator. For once, Natsuki didn't bat the hand away.

* * *

_She likes dresses, but what kind would she like?_ Natsuki held her breath as she moved closer to a display of dresses, as though the beautiful articles of clothing released air that was toxic to her lungs. There were a lot of different styles and a lot of different colors, and it didn't help that the saleslady kept pestering her, inquiring if she needed help. _Ugh, I can't believe Shizuru really likes wearing these more than looser clothing._

"Natsuki?" As soon as the two reached the seventh floor, Natsuki went off like a fire cracker and disappeared within a few seconds. With her high heels giving her a slight extra boost in height, Mutsumi searched for her daughter. Finally, she noticed a rather irritated blue-haired girl staring at a pile of dresses.

"Natsuki," her mother repeated, glad that she found her daughter. At the same time, her voice gave a hint of warning as though to say, "Please don't run off again."

"Mom… I don't know which one to pick," Natsuki said with a defeated sigh. Her lack of interest in these things surely didn't make it easier to shop for her beloved friend.

_One of the friends must be a girl. Perhaps this friend will be a good influence on Natsuki,_ Mutsumi thought to herself. "Well, what is your friend's favorite color?" That appeared to be a good start in the right direction.

"She likes light purple," the blue-haired girl said cheerfully. Automatically, she moved to where the more purple and periwinkle color based outfits were. Well the color problem was over, now what the kind of style? She wouldn't ask for her mother's help for this. This present was something she was going to chose from her heart. Certainly Shizuru wouldn't dislike a dress that she, Natsuki, had believed to be good looking. _My taste isn't that bad!_

Suddenly Natsuki's eyes widened and Mutsumi would swear she could see them shining with glee. Her daughter ran to the dress she chose and stood proudly by it. As Mutsumi walked closer to get a better view of the gown, all she could do was cover her mouth and say, "Oh my!"

* * *

The next level Natsuki chose to go to was the ninth one, also known as the toy store. As soon as Natsuki reached this level, the same glistening delight reappeared in those emerald eyes. Mutsumi could only shake her head as she watched her daughter get distracted by a television commercial advertising the latest collector's toy car. 

Ah, this was Natsuki's heaven. To go to the video game section or to stay and observe all the motorcycle models? Her eyes flashed back and forth at all the toys, only to twitch when her eyes saw the disgusting dolls that were imported from America. It was a blonde haired girl with bright blue eyes plastered with an unrealistic happy grin. The doll's bust was large and her waist was unnaturally thin. There something about this doll that Natsuki found creepy. She didn't understand why so many girls were crowding eagerly around it. _My doll is so much better; Shizuru's a lot prettier too!_

_Press me?_ Natsuki noticed a strange button protruding from the blond figurine's lean stomach. There was a small hole in the box so she would be able to extend her finger to press the button. The box had a huge cutout near that very hole promoting anyone to touch the button, and so she decided to.

"Oh my god, that dress is, like, so pretty!" the doll's shrill voice called out. Immediately, the blue-haired girl withdrew her finger, fearful of the blonde monster. _Shizuru has a nicer voice too,_ she thought to herself, and walked quickly away from the weirdest doll ever created.

Remembering that the shopping was not meant for her, Natsuki walked to where various capsule machines stood. The row of these toy dispensers seemed to last forever, and Natsuki knew she'd find something that her doll would like. Each machine required around one hundred to five hundred yen, so Natsuki knew that there'd be a good chance that she could buy something for herself as well. Rushing to her mother to get some change, Natsuki chose a couple machines, inserted the necessary amount of coins, twisted the handle, and waited for a capsule to pop out.

Exhausted, Mutsumi wasn't used to running back and forth so much in heels, Natsuki's mother rested on a bench just a couple feet away from Natsuki. With the dress purchased and her energetic child currently buying the final gift, Mutsumi began to ponder what she should buy her daughter for Christmas.

_Natsuki really does seem to like those motorcycles, perhaps this Christmas I'll buy one for her. Then again, Natsuki does seem to really adore the doll I bought for her. I knew Ryo was wrong when he said that she would've preferred one of those boyish toys. He thinks I don't even know my own daughter. What nerve!_ Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Mutsumi was oblivious to Natsuki's calling.

"MOM!" The voice finally broke through to the older woman. Looking up at her daughter, she noticed what she guessed to be ten capsules. Careful not to spill the precious orbs, Natsuki wobbled over and dumped them into the bag that also contained Shizuru's dress.

"Home?" Natsuki asked a bit wearily, although there was still much to do. Hopping onto the bench, Natsuki leaned her head against her mother's arm. It was an action that she used to do when she was younger to emphasize her tiredness.

"Of course," Mutsumi said with mild surprise. The time shopping with her daughter had gone a lot more smoothly than she expected. Nudging her daughter to wake, the two Kugas then made their way home.

* * *

"Wait!" the younger Kuga suddenly shouted. They were once again in the midst of the underground level, in which many stores were still advertising their assorted products. This area tended to be where most of the eateries were, as well as markets and some bakeries. 

"Can I go to the bakery?" she said remembering that the Kuga household lacked one of the most important components of a birthday. Natsuki did not rely on pouts when asking her mother for something, but rather asked as though she were an equal to her mother. Of course, asking her father was something different. She was his princess, and he loved to spoil her rotten.

"Yes, and it's 'may'," Mutsumi corrected, noticing a twitch grace Natsuki's features. It was a bit odd to hear that Natsuki want to go to the bakery, especially since the only baked item her daughter enjoyed was the eccentric mayonnaise cake. _How long has it been since Natsuki asked to eat a normal cake anyway?_

Pressing against the glass, Natsuki felt her stomach grumble at the sight of the delicious morsels. She had yet to eat dinner, and she was pretty sure that it had long passed the usual time she ate dinner. There was a time when Shizuru told her the kind of cake she liked… what was it, what was it? Natsuki lightly bumped her head against the glass for her forgetfulness. Concealing her emerald irises, she attempted to recall the memory.

"_Natsuki, are you sure that cake is still safe to eat?" Shizuru looked worryingly to her owner, whom was consuming the mayonnaise cake from over a month ago. As Natsuki's reward for getting the top score in her class, her mother decided to treat her to the strange delectable good. The blue-haired girl, at the time, had only eaten part of the cake and decided to save the rest for later. Only until recently did she remember that somewhere in the back of the refrigerator was the cake her mother had made for her. _

"_Why do you say that?" the blue-haired girl asked, her mouth opening and exposing the messily chewed white contents. _

"_It smells kind of weird," the older girl replied while pinching the bridge of her nose. A putrid smell emitted from her owner's mouth, and Shizuru swore she saw the mayonnaise crusting on the cake before it was greedily pushed into Natsuki's mouth._

"_That's just the mayonnaise." Feeling a bit mischievous, Natsuki opened her mouth and blew a cloud of the unappealing aroma at her doll. In shock, Shizuru accidentally opened her mouth, allowing the disgusting air to flow into it. As though she could actually taste the rotten mayonnaise cake, Shizuru quickly took a whiff of air through her nose to exhale as much as she could from her mouth. Even if the cake wasn't rotten, how could someone ever eat something like that?_

_Laughing at Shizuru's reaction, Natsuki then turned her attention back to her delicious birthday cake. Just as she was about to take another bite, there was a strange sound of disapproval. Distracted, the blue-haired girl looked around to find the source. When the sound didn't occur again, she lifted the fork back to her lips only to hear the strange sound again. The tone had a sense of familiarity, and so this time she made sure to keep her eyes on her doll. As the mayonnaise cake approached her mouth, the "ahh" noise sounded – one of those that parents often said to their children to get their mouth to open. _

"_Shizuru! Stop doing that!" the blue-haired girl said, apparently annoyed by her doll's interference._

"_Doing what?" Although Shizuru pretended that she knew nothing of her owner's irritation, the smile on her face gave away her true intentions. Actually, the older girl just wanted to distract Natsuki long enough so she could steal the cake and let the trash can eat it._

"_That weird sound, I can't eat my mayo cake!" the emerald-eyed girl complained._

"_Can't you eat normal cakes like normal people?" the doll whined in return._

"_Can't you shut up like normal dolls?" Natsuki retaliated. She didn't mean for her words to come out sounding so harsh, but the emerald-eyed girl was rather defensive about her favorite dessert. _

"_I could, but I know you prefer me talking. Besides, you love being with me," the older girl replied, giving Natsuki the biggest smile she could. She purposely exaggerated the word love so as to tease her darling owner even more._

"_No!" Natsuki blurted; Shizuru noticed a small white object project out of her friend's mouth as the blue-haired girl yelled._

"_Yes."_

"_NO!" the blue-haired girl yelled sternly. At this point, Shizuru closed her mouth, looking dejected. The room was once again silent. Thinking that she had finally silenced her doll, Natsuki went back to her beloved mayonnaise cake. _

"_Yes!" Shizuru spoke; she had turned their little "yes-no" into a game and she was determined to get the final say. Natsuki stared at Shizuru with a curious look; raising her eyebrow, she noted her doll's determination. It made her wonder just how many of her peers would actually talk back to her. Shizuru sure was a weird one._

"_Maybe," Natsuki said indecisively as she took another bite from her cake – only two bites left. _

"_Natsuki…" It was not an answer that Shizuru had anticipated. Of course, it wasn't a "yes," but neither was it an upsetting "no." And for some reason, Natsuki's response touched her._

"_You are my…friend." Natsuki hesitated before using the word. Turning her back to Shizuru, she contemplated how to phrase her words. Today would be one of those days when the icy girl would take a stab at the concept of admitting her feelings. "So… why wouldn't I enjoy being with you?" she finished, her face revealing just how unfamiliar she was with these sorts of things._

_Shizuru didn't speak, but only because there was nothing in the world she could say that would be able to express her happiness. It was an ineffable joy that she longed to experience. The blue-haired girl was clearly shy about the confession, which would explain why only Natsuki's slender back was facing her. Slowly walking toward that stream of cobalt hair, Shizuru opened her arms and embraced the girl from behind._

"_OI!" Natsuki yelled, so surprised by the contact that she almost dropped her fork. Shizuru's slim arms wrapped around the younger girl's neck and pulled Natsuki's body closer so that it leaned against her own. Although she originally tensed at this slight show of affection, Natsuki decided to allow the hug. She didn't want to tell Shizuru, but… it did feel kind of nice._

"_Do… you want some cake?" the emerald-eyed girl asked, breaking their little moment of warmth. As soon as Shizuru retracted her arms, Natsuki took the opportunity to slip out of her embrace and face the doll. She held the fork towards Shizuru's face and on top of the utensil lay the putrid food that Natsuki loved so much._

"_You should try ----- cake," Shizuru suggest impishly. Her impression of mayonnaise cake would forever remain unpleasant, and to eat the cake when it was probably spoiling might actually harm her body. She figured that it'd be better to eat a cake she enjoyed. Besides, Natsuki understood that not everyone loves her mayo cake right? It was Natsuki's idiosyncrasy; the younger girl was probably the only one in the world that insisted having mayonnaise on everything._

"_What?" the younger girl didn't catch the type of cake._

"_------, it's my absolute favorite. " _

"What?" Her memory was drawing a blank. Breaking out of her reverie, Natsuki mentally scolded herself for not paying closer attention to what cake Shizuru liked.

"E-excuse me?" Natsuki lifted her head to find the source of the question. It was the cake's salesperson. She had a rather nervous expression as though she wasn't sure what to say. Then again, Natsuki had been laying her head on the glass for some time…

"Need help?" the girl asked in broken Japanese – a foreigner. Only until she took a better look at the person's face did Natsuki realize that the salesperson wasn't Japanese.

_Shizuru… Shizuru likes tea right? Maybe the cake she liked was a green tea one! Those little rolls with red bean in it! But are those considered cakes?_ Again Natsuki was lost in her thoughts leaving the poor saleslady in utter confusion.

"Do you have green tea cakes? With the red bean inside?" the blue-haired girl asked; her piercing jade eyes showed no sign of sympathy to the foreigner working at the store.

"Ah… green cake," the lady contemplated and during this time Natsuki took the time to glance at the person's nametag. _Chan._

"Over there," she said pointing to a basket that contained miniature cakes wrapped in a light green transparent covering. Walking over, she picked up one of the mini green tea cakes. They fit perfectly in her palm, appearing delicate, but potent in flavor. Were these the ones that Shizuru liked? Since there were no other kind of cakes, Natsuki purchased it.

"Mom," the eight year old said, holding a plastic bag in her right hand, "teach me to make this." Pulling out of the bag, the blue haired-girl with gorgeous emerald eyes thrust the green tea delectable to her mother. Her voice wasn't pleading, in fact it was downright demanding, but something in those jade orbs revealed the desperation in the request.

"Today," Natsuki added. She wanted to bake Shizuru a cake for her birthday that way when the older girl wondered where the younger girl bought such a delicious green tea cake, Natsuki could arrogantly say she made it.

"Tonight after dinner then," Mutsumi said with a smile. New friends, and now this interest in cooking? What miraculous force was taking over her daughter? Whatever it was, she was extremely thankful. Perhaps her luck was turning, after all.

* * *

It was cold tonight. It was just a short distance from the station to the Kuga household, and yet the decreasing temperature made it seem so much longer. Winter had come and school was out for vacation. A whole three weeks of playing with Shizuru. Natsuki missed those times. It was strange; the cold never bothered her before. The night wasn't even at its coldest point, but Natsuki was shivering. 

Once inside her home, Natsuki was glad to be bathed in the heated air. Taking off her shoes and putting them into the shoe box, she put on her slippers.

"What do you want to do with the presents?" her mother asked just as Natsuki was going to run to her room.

"Shh, Mom! Don't say it too loudly or she'll hear you."

"Who… will hear, Natsuki?" Her mind did not fully process the words, but Mutsumi lowered her voice anyway.

"No one," Natsuki replied, suddenly remembering that no one knew of Shizuru's existence but her. "Just… keep them downstairs for now; I'm going to wrap them later. We have wrapping paper, right?"

"It's in the closet – "

"Okay, thanks! Call me when dinner's ready!" And with that, Natsuki dashed up the stairs. Shizuru was probably dying of boredom without her.

Walking softly toward her room, Natsuki then quietly opened the door to her room. The lights were off, which meant that Shizuru wasn't doing something like reading or watching the television.

"Shizuru?" she whispered into the darkness. It reminded her of horror movies, where the protagonist would always ask if there was someone there with them. Then usually something would pop out of the blue and scare the audience. Was Shizuru going to pop out of nowhere? Just in case, Natsuki turned on the lights to improve her sight.

"Shi–" She cut herself off once she saw that her doll was sleeping on her bed with Duran in her arms. It was one of the few times that Natsuki saw Shizuru sleeping in her human form. _Aw, Shizuru's sleeping. I wish she'd sleep like this rather than turn into a doll, makes her seem more human. I should let her sleep…._

"NOT! SHIZURU! WAKE UP, SHIZURU! I'M HOME!" she screamed happily. Her doll was stirring. The poor almost-birthday girl was probably confused about what was happening. Sitting up, Shizuru rubbed her eyes to see who was obnoxiously shouting at her during her beauty sleep.

"You're loud, Natsuki," the older girl said, lifting her arms high into the air as though to stretch.

"So what did you do while I was gone?" the blue-haired girl jumped onto the bed, causing Shizuru to groan in annoyance that her friend wasn't going to let her sleep.

"I was worrying about you. I looked out the window waiting for you, and you never came," the older girl whined with a pout.

"Stupid, didn't I tell you I was going to go out?" the blue-haired girl said rather gently. She said it so lightly that Shizuru felt that it was abnormal.

"I forgot, I'm sorry," the older girl said bowing her head in embarrassment. Whenever her friend was gone, she always assumed the worst. It was a bad habit and caused her to always fret for her friend's safety.

"Idiot," the green-eyed girl said affectionately, "you know I'll always come back to you."

Blink, blink. Shizuru was confused at the extra kindness in her usually flippant owner, "Who are you and what have you done with Natsuki?"

"Natsuki, dinner time!" a voice called from downstairs.

"Coming," the younger girl called back so that her mother would not constantly remind her.

"Can't I be nice every now and then?" the cobalt-haired girl winked; her doll was caught off guard by the comment. _If you think this is nice, just wait until tomorrow. I'm going to give you the best birthday ever!_ Natsuki smiled to herself at the thought of giving Shizuru a real human birthday celebration. The idea of hosting a party made her giddy for some reason.

"I have to go now and I'll be busy the entire night, so don't wait up. Read a book or something, I'll see you later," and with that the third-grader excused herself to go downstairs and eat her food.

"Eh?" Shizuru was left alone in the room again, now more puzzled than ever.

* * *

"Natsuki, can you crack four eggs into a bowl?" Mutsumi called to her daughter. She had never made green tea cake before, but the recipe looked simple enough. Tying the apron around her waist, Mutsumi studied the necessary ingredients for the cake. 

"Eggs, huh? Shouldn't be a problem." Getting a metallic bowl from the dish washer, Natsuki then went to retrieve four large, white eggs. She had never cracked an egg before, but it didn't look too hard. She'd seen her mom do it millions of times.

"Goodbye, little egg!" With a perfectly smooth egg in her right hand, she lifted it high into the air, and brought it down forcefully on the side of the bowl.

_Crack_. The egg broke into two, in which half the eggshell and contents fell into the bowl while the rest of the sticky fluid got onto her fingers.

"…" Failure number one. Getting another egg, Natsuki repeated the same action only to get the same result. Now there were two eggshells in the bowl and even more goo one her hand. Natsuki growled in frustration. _Stupid egg, stupid egg, stupid egg._

Two more eggs later…

"Natsuki, how are you – NATSUKI! WHAT HAPPENED?" Mutsumi's eyes widened at sight of the huge mess. Eggshells covered with the amniotic fluid were carelessly thrown on the kitchen counter. Inside the bowl was an agglomeration of one eggshell, some egg yolks, and a whole mess of egg white. Reassuring her mom that it was okay about the eggshell, the younger Kuga reached into the bowl and fished out the final eggshell.

"Stupid eggs," the eight year-old groused, unaware of the many mistakes she'd made just trying to crack an egg.

"Natsuki, there are still shell pieces in there; we can't use it." Mutsumi shook her head at her daughter's lack of understanding of the basic procedures in a kitchen. The girl was just eight, but the older Kuga was sure that other girls her age knew how to crack an egg.

The blue-haired girl scowled at her mother's words, her eyebrows furrowing at the unequivocal disappointment in her mother's voice.

"It's okay, we'll do it again," Mutsumi said, not wanting to discourage her daughter. At the comment, Natsuki immediately smiled again and brought out four more eggs. Unbeknownst to Mutsumi, this wouldn't be the only mistake her child would make.

* * *

"Natsuki! Why are there tea leaves in this bowl?" The older woman asked in disbelief. 

"Isn't it a green tea cake?" the blue-haired girl asked innocently. It made complete sense to her. It had green tea in the name meaning that it should be made with green tea, so the cake should have tea leaves right? What did she do wrong?

"We use matcha, not tea leaves," Mutsumi said, chuckling at her daughter's childish logic. However, because of this mistake it meant that she'd either have to redo the process or just pick out the tea leaves. Luckily for her, Natsuki put it in the dry ingredients bowl.

* * *

"Natsuki, can you open the oven for me?" the older woman called, glad they had finally finished the first part. Now all that was left was to wait for it to bake and then add the red bean paste. Without replying, the younger girl walked to the oven and causally pulled down the handle. She waited by the oven as her mom brought over the tray filled what would soon become Shizuru's cake. 

"Natsuki don't stand so close – it's hot," her mother chided.

"No, it's not," Natsuki replied, wondering what in the world her mother was talking bout. But she was right, the oven wasn't hot. In fact, it wasn't even on.

"…Natsuki, didn't I tell you to preheat the oven?"

"But nothing's inside, it wouldn't be cooking anything," the girl responded, bringing her eyebrows together again until a faint wrinkle could be spotted. _What did I do now?_

"Natsuki, if we put it in now, it wouldn't be hot enough for it to bake," Mutsumi should've known that as her daughter's first time baking there'd be a lot of… obstacles. Now an angry expression took over Natsuki's adorable face, and Mutsumi knew that her daughter was beating herself up over her third mistake.

"No matter, we'll just preheat it now, and you go along and I'll call you when it's done. Then we can apply the red bean paste, okay?" the older woman asked gently. Imperfection must be met with much practice before it becomes closer to perfection.

Nodding, Natsuki then took off her apron to go tend to other important business. There was still much to be done in preparation for Shizuru's best birthday ever. Presents were to be wrapped, a card was to be written, and decorations were to be put up. She'd go in order of that list, and so she began to wrap each capsule, save for one that she bought for herself. Nine capsules for Shizuru, who's turning nine. Natsuki sighed at the many things to do; it was going to be a long night.

"Natsuki," her mother asked fondly, "what is going on in that mind of yours?" Mutsumi gazed lovingly at her daughter, who soon disappeared into the work room. _Why did she need to bake a cake anyway? Why buy presents today? Was something happening tomorrow? I don't recall Natsuki mentioning a party._ Various thoughts went through her head as Mutsumi speculated just why Natsuki had done so many things she normally wouldn't.

_Nine-thirty, where are you Ryo?

* * *

_

"Natsuki, are you alright?" Ever since her daughter came back from doing whatever she had been doing, those bright green gems lost their luster. Her daughter could barely keep her head up, which dipped up and down like one of those bobble head toys. Natsuki was tired.

"I'm fine," the girl replied stubbornly, not wanting to show weakness to her mother. It was almost ten o'clock, which was nearing Natsuki's bedtime. However, the previous task of wrapping nine circular objects took a lot of time and energy to accomplish. The letter that she poured her heart into, well sort of, was mentally strenuous. She wrote in the letter things that she'd never wanted to really admit to Shizuru – like the fact that the doll was her only and best friend, that she didn't know what she'd do without Shizuru's company. She wanted Shizuru to know just how much she appreciated it, even though she couldn't say the words aloud.

Mutsumi was going to question the truthfulness in her daughter's words, but knew that Natsuki's obstinate personality wouldn't allow it. The layering of red bean was sloppy and some of the crimson paste was dripping onto the table top.

_Shizuru… Stay awake for Shizuru's sake, finish… finish. _But the mantra was hard to follow. She didn't even put up the decorations yet!

"Natsuki, I've been meaning to ask, but why did we bake this cake?" Mutsumi hoped it didn't sound rude, but her curiosity was really eating at her.

"Shizuru's birthday," Natsuki replied drowsily, not thinking too clearly. Half the cake was piled high with red bean paste while the other half remained as bare as a bleak desert. By Natsuki's working rate, they were never going to properly complete the cake.

At the moment, the door opened revealing a handsome man dressed in a business suit carrying a briefcase. Mutsumi's husband had finally returned – only two hours late. She sighed at what had become of their marriage.

"Ryo," she shouted, which caught his attention. He stopped in his movements and turned his face toward his wife's direction. In those eyes held the same, familiar warmth and love that she remembered when they got married. They were a bit hazy, but the affection was still there. He wasn't a bad man, he was just flawed. Walking over, he noticed the giant mess that his daughter probably made and though his love for cleanliness would usually be going off like a siren, he smiled in adoration.

"She's tired; can you take her back to her room? It's been a long day for her," Mutsumi said taking the spoon out of her sleepy daughter's hands. Natsuki's eyes were closed and she was basically standing while sleeping. Ryo lifted his daughter into his arms, and kissed her gently on the forehead. The youngest Kuga fidgeted, but accepted the show of love. With an understanding nod from his wife, Ryo then took Natsuki back to her room where her sleeping figure would be suited best. Natsuki's mother was left to finish the blue-haired girl's job of evening out the red bean paste.

There were some voices coming from Natsuki's room and the light was still on. A highly exaggerated boyish laugh sounded through the room, and Ryo wondered why his daughter hadn't turned off the television. It did creep him out a bit though to find that the doll he bought for Natsuki was positioned right in front of the TV with Duran in her lap. The doll's hauntingly red eyes gazed at the screen filled with cartoon images. He turned off the set so as not to disrupt his daughter, who was already lying limply on his shoulder. After being carefully setting into the comfort of her bed, Natsuki rolled onto her side and muttered something about cake. Ryo then took the small dog plush and returned it nicely into the arms of its true owner.

"Good night, princess," Ryo whispered into his daughter's beautifully shaped ear. He kissed her once more on the cheek and drew the navy cotton blanket over her body. _Natsuki is so beautiful, my little sleeping beauty._

_Click._ The door closed and Shizuru was left alone with her friend. The whole day, she barely got to see Natsuki and now her owner had fallen asleep.

"I guess there will be no playing today," the older girl said, a bit disappointed that some important business had robbed her friend of their precious time. Winter vacation was officially here, however, so Shizuru was sure they'd make up for lost time.

She didn't know why, but Shizuru had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be great.

"Good night, Natsuki."

* * *

Author's Note: In case anyone was wondering, matcha is powdered green tea, which can be used in baking cakes or tea brewing. Originally this chapter was going to be Shizuru's birthday preparation and Shizuru's birthday, but after finishing the first part I realized it was too long and decided to split the two. Sorry for the delay in updating though T.T Thanks to Olivia for being a wonderful beta, as always. It should be fairly obvious what the next chapter is right? RIGHT? Haha, well I hope you enjoy this chapter, have a nice day. Bananas don't taste good with pizza sauce.. 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The characters of Mai Hime belong to Sunrise.

Chapter 9

"Ryo, I…" A sudden overwhelming sensation flooded her body, an explosion of pained emotions that she had long suppressed. Mutsumi hadn't remembered feeling this way in quite a long time and the sudden possibility of those emotions resurfacing frightened her. Her body, however, was acting faster than her mind could handle, and the young mother soon became aware of the pool of tears gathering in her eyes. With a delicate hand, she muffled her mouth to repress the sob that had somehow escaped.

Ryo sat on the couch a couple feet away from Mutsumi, quietly observing his wife. His fingers, which were intertwined to form a support bridge for his chin, felt usually cold despite the heater's warmth. In a way, the situation made him feel like a child being lectured by his mother. He had made a mistake and now was being scolded for his impetuosity. The only difference was that it wasn't his mother, it was his wife. And he didn't just disappoint her, he shamed her, betrayed her, upset her, but most importantly he caused her pain. At the sound of her stifled sob, he stood up, but was still unsure of what to do next.

The truth was that he always loved her, and he always would. The only thing that had changed in their marriage was that he was no longer in love with her. With that sudden realization, Ryo fell into a spiral of depression and confusion. He yearned for the soft caress of a woman's touch, a show of intimate affection. However, Ryo knew that he would never be able to get such things from Mutsumi, who had long fallen out of the necessity of such intimacy. Could she really blame him then that he needed to find an outside source to fulfill his own needs?

"I can't keep pretending nothing's happening," Mutsumi finished firmly, finally regaining control over her emotions.

_Always so strong, Mutsumi, always, _Ryo thought to himself. It was another attribute that bothered him. Mutsumi rarely needed him, her strength and independence made him both envious and angry. An inferiority complex flickered within Ryo; he wanted to feel important, wanted, loved. He clenched his fists at these thoughts, using his anger to convince himself that he was the true victim here.

"So please stop," his wife's lovely voice cracked, breaking Ryo from his rage. The hint of vulnerability revealed itself, and Ryo drew his eyes to gaze into Mutsumi's. The beautiful woman before him, although appearing unaffected on the outside, was shattering inside. How could he forget? An epiphany struck him, and Ryo suddenly felt his anger draining. He was repeating exactly what Mutsumi's father had done to her mother. Their marriage, which budded beautifully and promisingly, only ended up wilting into a flower of hatred. It was his fault, Ryo realized.

"Mutsumi," he said approaching his wife while opening up his arms. He embraced her and at the same time constantly muttered apologies. Mutsumi did struggle in those arms, but was held securely by Ryo's physical strength. And so she let him apologize, his tone was gentle and convincing. Again, Mutsumi felt a surge of raw emotion inundating her body, but this time she did not try to hold her tears back.

"I'm so sorry. I love you. I'm so sorry," he repeated into her ear while tucking away loose strands that might have hindered his words. Mutsumi felt pathetic at the woman she was turning into. _Just like mother, I suppose_, she thought.

"I promise, I'll never do it again," he assured her as he kissed at her fallen tears. "I promise."

His words, which had always held so much integrity, seemed to fade and disintegrate like a weakened candle. Mutsumi knew better than to immediately take her husband's word, but a promise was better than none at all. Perhaps, he would really change, unlike her own father.

Pulling away so that she could meet her husband's worried eyes, she kissed him tenderly on the lips before fully freeing herself from his embrace.

"Your words, which have always seemed to relieve me from my worries, now only seem to cause me further distress. I will always love you, Ryo, you know that, but…" She looked toward the door as if foreshadowing her next action. "I'm going to stay at my mother's for a couple of days. I hope you respect my decision as I have yours. I will be back before Christmas. Keep your promise Ryo, and I will keep mine."

With a final kiss, Mutsumi grabbed her car keys and just as she opened the door, Ryo called out, "We'll get through this."

There was a pause in Mutsumi's movements, but in the end, she closed the door with nothing to say. Whether his unpredictable wife had heard him or not, Ryo did not know. Exhaling a long sigh, the businessman rubbed at the back of his head and noted that it was already 1 a.m. There would be no work tomorrow, but he figured it would be an opportune time to catch a good night's rest – that is, if he could, after what had happened. Perhaps this temporary separation would be good for both of them.

Sitting wordlessly at the top of the staircase was a beautiful Kyoto doll. Shizuru's red eyes flashed with loathing as she saw Ryo's shadow pace against the living room walls. She did not mean to eavesdrop; the Kugas' argument had seemed like an overly loud television drama coming from downstairs. When the noise became unbearable, to the point that even Natsuki was groaning in her sleep, Shizuru, in her drowsy state, stepped outside with the intention of asking the Kugas to lower the volume. It was then that she realized she was in the midst of a heated argument between Natsuki's parents.

Often, Shizuru wondered how she should think of Natsuki's father. A man that her dear friend loved and admired so much hardly seemed worthy of such affection after what Shizuru heard. She hated him, and in her mind throughout the entire quarrel, Shizuru rooted for Mutsumi for her bravery. If anyone was to be esteemed, it should be Natsuki's mother. But now that she was gone, Shizuru wondered what pathetic excuse Ryo would make. It made her even angrier just thinking about Natsuki's father.

_How could Natsuki love him so much?! If only she could see the monster he really was! But then her "wonderful" image of her idol would be shattered…she'd be crushed. _Shizuru was so absorbed in her condemning of Ryo that she didn't even notice that that very man was making his way up the stairs. She didn't feel any kind of panic, since she knew she couldn't be seen anyway, but she made sure to make a very rude gesture at him.

_That doll. _Ryo stopped right in front of Shizuru. His baffled expression made Shizuru want to laugh. _How did she get here_?

"Natsuki," he said aloud accidentally. A sudden fear crept within him that Natsuki might have been sitting at the top of the stairs and heard him and Mutsumi argue.

_That's right, Natsuki. Kuga-san, if you hurt Natsuki, I swear you'll have to answer to me. I don't know how, but I promise you'll live to regret it._ Ryo shivered as he gazed upon Shizuru's face. Although the doll's facial features were clearly expressionless, Ryo couldn't help feeling as though…

"Nah, she couldn't possibly be alive." His memories suddenly took him back to that time when Natsuki complained that the doll had talked. How morbidly horrifying would that have been? "I don't see why Natsuki even likes you; I thought she hated these sorts of toys."

Shizuru remained silent at the insult; there would no point wasting her breath on someone who couldn't hear her. Picking up Natsuki's birthday present, Ryo entered Natsuki's room to return the toy. Luckily for him, the door was still open, which meant there was still a chance that Natsuki didn't hear the fight at all. He sighed in relief and set the doll on the couch with the neglected stuffed bear.

There on her bed, Natsuki was sound asleep, her arms embracing her plush tightly. He wished her good night once more, and with a click left the room.

Melting into her human flesh, Shizuru quickly walked over to Natsuki's side. She had to make sure…

"Natsuki, you're sleeping right?" the older girl whispered to the lightly snoring eight year old. Reaching over, she extended her index finger and poked Natsuki's cheek. The girl made an irritated growl, but didn't wake up.

"I'm going to steal Duran," she tried while wiggling her hand in front of Natsuki's face. Suddenly she snatched the dog plush out of her owner's hands and watched for any sudden reaction. Nothing.

"Natsuki, you're… a bed wetter!" she exclaimed, though not too loudly in the case that her friend really was sleeping. The cobalt-haired girl wasn't really a bed wetter, but Shizuru figured Natsuki might have wanted to challenge the claim – as she usually did. Still there was nothing, and Shizuru was finally convinced that her friend had truly fallen into a deep sleep. Who would have thought? Especially since the yelling was rather loud, then again Natsuki seemed particularly busy today and was probably exhausted. Feeling a bit comforted that Natsuki wasn't aware of what had happened downstairs, Shizuru collapsed back onto her couch. It was inevitably late and she had no energy to sustain herself. Then, Shizuru too fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"I wasn't sleeping" a voice suddenly cried within Natsuki's room. Sitting upright on her bed, Natsuki took a moment to get acquainted with her surroundings. This wasn't the kitchen, it was her room. Anxiety gripped her as Natsuki realized that she had fallen asleep during one of the most important tasks of a birthday party. _How long have I been sleeping? _Grabbing her clock, she read the large red flashing digits – nine o'clock. She still had time. The lack of time caused Natsuki to act a bit more rashly than usual. She pulled at her covers with such speed it created a symphony of noise as the light material fell as prey to the force. _Shizuru_, her mind suddenly remembered and she glimpsed quickly at the doll to see if she was already awake. 

Currently in her doll state, Natsuki wondered if Shizuru was still sleeping. It was bothersome that her friend could remain in that form and still be aware of her environment. Not wanting to waste any of her precious time, however, Natsuki quickly and quietly dashed out of her room. If her swift footsteps didn't wake Shizuru, Natsuki's stomping down the stairs would. The blue-haired girl slid into the kitchen only to find a magnificent green tea cake layered evenly with red bean paste.

_Did I finish it after all? _While suspiciously eyeing the cake, Natsuki strolled to the table and tip-toed to get a better view of the delicacy. The mess she remembered from yesterday had been cleaned up. There was a note by the cake, as well as a small tube of icing.

_Dear Natsuki,_

_Good morning. You were so tired yesterday that I asked your father to carry you to bed. I took the liberty of finishing making the cake. I know you wanted to do it, but if I allowed you to continue any longer, your face would've surely fallen into the cake. There is some icing near this letter in the case you wanted to write anything on it. I'm not sure who this Shizuru is, but I'm sure that she must be an important friend to you. I also assumed that this would be the same person you bought the presents for, and since you told me that she likes purple, I left the purple one for you. I apologize if my assumptions were incorrect. Also, Mommy is going to be gone for a couple of days. Be a good girl for your father. I'll be back before Christmas._

_Love,_

_Mom_

_P.S. Remember to wash your hands before handling the cake._

"Tch," Natsuki scoffed, unimpressed, as she crumbled the note into a ball and tossed it into the nearest trashcan. It was always like her mother to take matters into her own hands. However, Natsuki was angrier at herself than at her mother. She couldn't even stay up to finish the cake…what kind of friend was she if she couldn't do such a simple task? Slumped against the kitchen counter, Natsuki twirled the tube of icing between her fingers. Still, her mother did do a good job, and it wasn't as if the older Kuga remade the cake from scratch.

"I wonder if it tastes good," she wondered as her fingers itched closer to the cake's dark red substance. Observing the cake, Natsuki noticed that writing on the red bean was out of the question. The sides, however, were still the spongy, green cake, which would be a perfect place to write something. Now the question was… what to write?

Natsuki wanted the message to be special, but wasn't that the point of the letter? A simple "Happy Birthday Shizuru" was too cliché. Or was she even allowed to write Shizuru? The blue haired girl recalled during the show and tell that the doll had requested to be called by the alias Fujiwara Shizuka.

"Ah!" Natsuki growled in frustration. Why was this so hard? Taking off the cap of the frosting, Natsuki squeezed it so that a light purple, gel-like substance made its acquaintance with the outside world. Pressing it against the side of the cake, Natsuki began writing out Shizuru's name in kanji. A bit sloppy, but Natsuki was pleased of her accomplishment. The words, however, were a bit hard to read, and Natsuki hoped that they would be at least legible to the birthday girl. After covering the front part of the cake, Natsuki spun the platter so that the blank side was now facing her.

"What to write… What to write… Why do people even write on cakes?" And whilst her concentrated thinking, Natsuki absentmindedly squeezed the tube of purple icing too hard causing a splat of lavender frosting toward the left side of the cake. When an idea finally popped into her head, she was mortified to find that there was something already on the cake. Natsuki flushed in embarrassment at her severe display of inattentiveness. Not knowing what to make of the splotch of purple, the blue haired girl decided to draw her friend with the best of her artistic capabilities.

Unfortunately for Natsuki, those artistic capabilities did not exist and thus the aesthetic appeal of the cake greatly diminished. Of course, to the green-eyed child, she thought she did a great job. Her drawings of wolves, which were much more elaborate and realistic in comparison to the purple blob, were often complimented by her classmates – well, Takeda.

"There, it doesn't look that bad…" she paused as she looked proudly at her drawing, "In fact, it looks just like her!" Now that the cake was set, it was time to go awaken the sleeping doll.

* * *

Standing in front of her doll, Natsuki contemplated what to do next. It was unnatural that Shizuru hadn't gotten up and moved around and even weirder that the sly toy hadn't tried to surprise her owner. 

_Maybe she's just tired. But, didn't she sleep earlier than I did? Then again, I wouldn't know since I passed out before her_. Natsuki scowled at the reminder that she couldn't push herself to stay up longer. _Today's her birthday… maybe I should let her sleep. But what if she sleeps for the entire day? She'll miss out on all the fun I planned! Or, what if she's too tired to even play with me? Shizuru…_ The blue-haired girl was obviously frustrated and decided to try and wake the girl calmly.

"Shizuru?" she asked carefully while she used her index finger to poke through chestnut bangs at the doll's celluloid forehead. "You in there?"

Still there was no response and so the younger girl decided to sit on the floor and give Shizuru a couple more minutes of shut-eye. However, for a girl like Natsuki, who always had to be doing something, a few seconds seemed so long and tortuous. She began to grow impatient and not wanting to wait any longer, Natsuki inhaled a gulp of air and loudly yelled, "SHIZURU!"

Within a blink, Natsuki saw that her friend's human form had replaced the doll's, and the blue-haired girl grinned to herself for successfully waking up Shizuru. Weakly lifting one eyelid, a crimson orb peered at enthusiastic viridian ones.

"Shizuru! Wake up!" Natsuki said grabbing Shizuru's shoulders and roughly shaking them, "WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE – "

"Good morning to you too, Natsuki," Shizuru attempted to stifle a yawn, "Why are you up so early?"

"What are you talking about, it's already ten. And if you don't wake up we don't get to play, I planned a lot for us to do today and – "

"You planned something for us to do today? That's a change." The doll gave a teasing smile and watched as her owner grimaced at her words.

"Yes, I did," the younger girl said, purposely emphasizing the "yes" part, "Now c'mon, up, up, up!"

"Natsuki, you're starting to sound like your mother." At this, the other girl immediately stopped in her actions and look at Shizuru with a flabbergasted face. "Besides, have you even washed your face yet? I spot a crusty eye."

At Shizuru's words, Natsuki was reminded that she hadn't even done her daily morning routine. Quickly, she ran into the bathroom to do her business while Shizuru wondered what exactly had made her owner so excited.

_Must be the first day of winter vacation, _the Kyoto girl thought to herself. The door reopened to expose a rather tidy looking Natsuki, although there were still some blue strands that were poking in all sorts of directions. Running to her drawers, the blue-haired girl frantically pulled out various articles of clothing – tossing them over her head until a small hill of clothes formed in front of Shizuru.

Two long-sleeved shirts, two pants, two pairs of socks, and soon Shizuru was lost as more and more clothes piled on top of each other. The main point that she noted, however, was that Natsuki seemed to be throwing everything out by two's.

"Natsu…ki?" She asked, unsure what her friend was doing. The older girl leaned over to tap her friend on the shoulder, but was surprised when Natsuki suddenly turned around and rammed into her.

"Shizuru!" the younger girl exclaimed, rubbing her head. She wanted to run to the pile of clothes, but Shizuru had suddenly popped out of nowhere.

"Sorry, but what are you doing?" the red-eyed girl questioned as she watched Natsuki separate the clothes so that there were two piles of outfits.

"One for you. One for me. We're gonna go to the park," she said, making sure that red and purple clothing would be in one pile, while blue was in another.

"Ara," Shizuru said in astonishment. All this time with Natsuki and she had yet to be taken to a park. A park… a place where other kids would easily be involved in each other's activities, a place of interaction, socialization. Why would the lone wolf want to go there?

"These are for you," Natsuki said, breaking Shizuru from her thoughts. Seeing the bundle of clothed handpicked by Natsuki, the doll graciously accepted them. "Same stuff, you change here, I change there. I hope you're okay with what I picked." Thinking that Shizuru might be a bit confused by all the sudden requests, Natsuki decided to compensate with her best smile. This, of course, further bemused the older girl, but she was glad that her friend had smiled at her so warmly.

Natsuki's selection of clothing wasn't that bad as well: a red turtleneck with a purple jacket, jeans, and a red scarf. There were some mittens and socks in the pile, but Shizuru didn't bother to put them on just yet. Removing her dress, Shizuru changed into the garments her friend provided for her.

"Done?" asked a voice from behind the bathroom door, "I'm coming out…"

"Okay!" And the door opened to reveal Natsuki in matching clothing, except her shirt and scarf were blue and the jacket was dark blue. Even though she watched Natsuki pick out the attire, Shizuru didn't recognize that Natsuki made it so that they would match. The little actions such as this made Shizuru realize how much Natsuki tried to demonstrate her friendship. Sure, the stubborn girl might not be so good at expressing herself with words, but Natsuki sure knew how to express herself with actions.

"Look, we match," Shizuru said, smiling in delight.

"Tch, I look cooler." It was then that Natsuki remembered she should be complimenting Shizuru since it was her birthday. Just for today, tomorrow everything will be back to normal. Pretending to cough, Natsuki then corrected herself, "Uh, but you look prettier."

Suddenly, her wall became very interesting, and the younger girl found herself staring at it. It was a bit weird flattering Shizuru, after all.

"Really?" the older girl said with a hint of playfulness. _Ara, Natsuki is being extra nice today. Maybe she knows how lonely I've been at home and wants to make it up today_. Her friend looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea of "being nice," and so Shizuru decided not to press it. Rather, she gave a more genuine smile and said, "Thank you, Natsuki. You look good yourself."

"…" She didn't say anything at first, which worried Shizuru that perhaps she had taken the wrong approach. Suddenly, Natsuki turned around with her tongue sticking out and said, "I know I do."

When the sound of footsteps became apparent, Natsuki quickly grabbed Shizuru's hand and dragged them both into the closet.

"Natsuki, what are we – "

"Shhh," and when the room fell silent, Natsuki listened intently. The door creaked open and a deep voice echoed in the empty room, "Natsuki?"

Ryo walked over to his daughter's bed, but the girl was no where to be found. Nor was she in the bathroom or sitting on the couch. When he saw some mittens and socks on the floor his heart filled with panic. What if Natsuki really did hear the argument yesterday and ran away in the middle of the night? His paternal instincts took over and he began shouting out his daughter's name.

Natsuki snickered in her hiding place; her father was so silly.

"Natsuki?" Ryo asked hearing laughter from behind the closet doors. Quickly, he ran over to push aside the sliding door. The eight-year-old then threw herself into his arms, and he gratefully picked her up and lifted her high into the sky.

"Boo Daddy!" the blue-haired girl said in a childish tone. Peering from behind the door, Shizuru gazed at the affectionate relationship between daughter and father. How she envied that he could steal so much of Natsuki's attention. How she hated what he did and yet managed to conceal these dark secrets from his daughter, who always looked up to him. She hated him so much.

"Natsuki, I was so worried," he whispered, glad that he found her and that she still seemed as lively with him as ever. The apprehension in the man's voice was, as Shizuru noted, true. He may be good as a father, but he was terrible as a person.

"Haha, I'm sorry Daddy," she said, with such loving emotion that Shizuru cringed at the difference of love Natsuki displayed to the two of them.

_I shouldn't compare myself with him. He's her father. She's known him longer… _the doll thought, trying to convince herself. She felt an unbelievable amount of loneliness as she was forgotten and abandoned in the closet.

"A kiss will make it better," he said tapping his left cheek with his index finger. Willingly, the blue-haired girl leaned over and gave a quick peck before exposing that rare smile which Shizuru wanted for herself.

"Did you know Mom's gone? She's gonna be gone for a while!"

"Yes…" he said gravely, wondering how Natsuki's reaction would be to this departure.

"Yay! It's going to be just you and me, Daddy! Don't tell Mom, but I like being with you better!" she said, hugging him tightly. At that point, Shizuru wanted to scream at her friend.

_It's all a lie! Don't believe him! He made her leave!_ The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say them. No matter how much she hated him, Natsuki just adored the man too much to know the truth. Shizuru sighed inwardly and wondered how Mutsumi was doing and if she would really return. The interaction between Ryo and Natsuki was too much, and Shizuru found herself closing the closet to block the view.

"I need a favor," the emerald-eyed girl stated with a serious expression.

"Anything, your mom's not here so we can do anything we want."

"Can you take me to Koganei Park?"

"Park? Koganei Park?" he questioned in surprise – he was not expecting such a request.

"Yeah," looking toward the closet, she then leaned over to her father's ear and whispered, "It's my friend's birthday and I want to go there with her."

"Friend? Who? Is it Takeda?" he asked, settling his daughter back onto the floor. He winked as he said Takeda, since he knew of the boy's crush on his daughter.

"No! And lower your voice," signaling for him to come closer, Ryo kneeled on the floor so his daughter could once again whisper into his ear. "It's my doll's birthday. I know you won't believe me, but she's real! And today's her birthday."

Ryo's eyes widened at his precious girl's words. _Real_. He recalled the loathing stare the doll gave him when he saw her at the top of the staircase. He remembered the chills that ran down his spine as he'd picked up the doll and returned her to Natsuki's room. _There is no way that thing could be real. _

"Natsuki…" he said sadly. One of the first birthday parties his daughter actually wants to plan and it turns out to be a doll's.

"Please," the eight-year-old said with such yearning that there was no way Ryo could refuse.

"You know I can't say no," he said with a smile. Immediately, those green gems brightened and Ryo found his misery from yesterday washing away.

"I'm going to go get ready, I'll be down in fifteen minutes," he said, patting the stubble that was starting to grow at the bottom of his chin.

"Okay," she said happily and waved as her father departed.

"Shizuru, what are you still doing in the closet," Natsuki said sliding the door open.

"Boo!" the older girl yelled, surprising Natsuki. The red-eyed girl fell into Natsuki's lithe arms and together the girls fell onto the floor.

"Ah, wanna get off me, Shizuru?" Natsuki said with the wind knocked out of her. She tried to push the older girl off her, but Shizuru persistently remained lain across Natsuki's stomach.

"Nope, I like where I am."

"I'll change that," Natsuki smirked and soon thrust her nimble fingers into Shizuru's sides and began to tickle her doll. Falling victim to her friend's tickle attack, Shizuru reluctantly rolled off Natsuki. However, Natsuki didn't feel like stopping just yet and continued to tickle the poor doll.

"Say sorry," Natsuki said loudly so that the laughing girl could hear her.

"Sorry," Shizuru obeyed as her laughter grew more uncontrollable. What an unladylike thing for her to do.

"Say… Natsuki's the coolest person I've ever met."

"Natsuki's the meanest person I've ever met," the older girl manipulated the sentence, but the simple change remained unnoticed by Natsuki who had to strain her ears just to hear her doll. Figuring she had tortured her friend long enough, the blue-haired girl withdrew her "fingers of doom" and gave Shizuru a proud and arrogant look.

"Natsuki is such a meanie," Shizuru pouted, watching as her owner laughed at her words. Natsuki seemed to be oscillating between being extra nice and extra mean, well not mean, just extra playful, but in Natsuki's terms that meant being an evil meanie.

"Anything to make you smile," the blue-haired girl responded in a way that Shizuru completely did not expect. A very distinguishable look of surprise enveloped the older girl's face. Shizuru's reaction pleased Natsuki, who liked it when the older girl did things that were more human-like. _Don't think you're the only one that can tell when people are hiding things, Shizuru,_ the younger girl thought. As soon as Shizuru had yelled out "boo", Natsuki could see in the way Shizuru imitated her actions and the longing in those ruby orbs that there was something wrong. There was a suggestion of sadness in that voice and there was no way Natsuki was going to allow that, especially today of all days.

Shizuru, on the other hand, was rendered speechless. What could Natsuki possibly have meant by that?

* * *

The wind felt good on her face and Shizuru felt relaxed as the chilly air touched her skin. The older girl was amused that she could miss such a simple and common thing as the wind on one's face. Looking ahead, the red-eyed girl watched as the mountain scenery grew larger, shrank, and then grew larger again. Gripping the chains that bound her seat to a stabilized post, Shizuru turned her head to look at her blue-haired companion. 

"Natsuki, don't you want to swing too? I can push myself you know," the red-eyed girl proposed, watching as Natsuki would loudly exhale and grunt as she pushed the swing. As soon as they arrived at Koganei Park, Shizuru's eyes became attached to the free set of swings in the children's play area. The swings were popular, and Natsuki knew if they didn't go now someone else would surely hog the swings.

"It's… okay," the blue-haired girl huffed. Determined, she pushed Shizuru harder and harder until it seemed that the older girl would soon touch the sky.

"But you seem tired," Shizuru observed, worrying that the other girl might collapse in exhaustion. She wasn't that heavy, but the action itself was so strenuous and mind-numbing that Shizuru couldn't help but sympathize.

"Shut up, Shizuru! I'm fine."

Near the children's play area were stone benches where the parent or parents could sit and watch their children. There, the adults could also converse with other kids' parents. Rarely however, did they have anything to talk about, usually sticking to casual talk like the weather and whose kid was whose. There Ryo sat reading the newspaper, his hair playfully styled to better emphasize his youth. Without his suit and briefcase, he lost the sophistication of a business man and now looked more like a handsome college student. He wore a black trench coat along with a vibrant red scarf so that Natsuki could easily pinpoint him in a crowd.

"Excuse me?" Ryo elevated his eyes to meet a pair of cerulean ones. A beautiful young woman with short brown hair and blue orbs stood nervously looking at Ryo. She was gripping a baby stroller in one hand and her baby bag in the other. An adorable little boy was fussing angrily within the stroller and soon he broke into a loud cry. Raising an eyebrow at the scene, Ryo watched as the woman before him struggled to take out a bottle of milk while rocking the stroller to soothe her baby boy.

"Ah," the young woman yelped as the milk slipped from her hand and with the help of gravity, the bottle made its way to the ground.

"Whoa!" And with lightning reflexes, which Ryo wasn't even aware he had, he caught the bottle and handed it to the woman.

"Thank you so much, I was wondering if anyone was sitting here and…"

"Nope, I'm afraid it's free," Ryo smiled warmly at the woman, who reminded him so much of a bookworm girlfriend he had in his earlier days.

"Thank you," she said while moving the stroller by the bench's side. She reached in and retrieved her baby boy before finally sitting down.

"He's beautiful. Ten months?" Ryo guessed, watching as the woman gently slipped the bottle into the boy's mouth. Greedily, the baby sucked at the milk.

"Actually thirteen months, I know he seems small." At that point she held the boy close against her chest. "He was born premature."

"Ah, rest assured, I'm sure he'll grow to be just as strong as or even stronger than normal boys," he said reassuringly. The woman looked no older than mid-twenties; an age that Ryo believed was when a woman was most beautiful.

"I'm Takano Masami," she said, extending her left hand over to Ryo.

"Kuga Ryo. No ring?" he replied as he graciously accepted Masami's hand and marveled at how fragile the woman seemed.

"I'm not married. I was," she avoided his eyes for a brief moment before lowering her voice, "I was raped."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean – " he said, flushing in embarrassment at the fact that he could be so inconsiderate.

"No, don't worry. I… I wanted to keep him, no matter what. It's a thing of the past, please don't think anything of it," she said in a rush, as though to assure Ryo that his question brought back no painful memories. Ryo was amazed by the strength Masami displayed, despite the obvious turmoil she was probably going through.

"Natsuki, who's that woman?" Shizuru said as the view of Masami and Ryo came into view and then disappeared.

"What? Where?" Natsuki asked curiously.

"By your dad, he's talking to her. Is it your mom?" the older girl questioned with as much as she could see.

"What? Stand up," the emerald-eyed girl commanded.

"Stand up? Are you crazy? I'll fall!"

"Ah, Shizuru, you baby," the blue haired girl said frustrated by Shizuru's fear. Jumping onto the swing next to Shizuru, Natsuki rocked the swing wildly until she too could see the scene.

"That's not my mom," Natsuki said in relief that her mother might have found them and wanted them to go home. Suddenly losing her balance, Natsuki swung her right arm out to grab onto the chain of Shizuru's swing. The two swings rocked violently and with the younger girl still standing, the older girl laughed at the weird movements Natsuki had to do to remain steady.

"Laughing, eh, watch this!" Jumping off her own swing, Natsuki forced Shizuru's swing to move suddenly to the left. Shizuru yelped at Natsuki sudden intrusion and because neither was prepared for the abrupt jerk, the two fell into the rubber ground below the swing.

"Natsuki? Natsuki!" Shizuru yelled in concern as she saw her friend lying face down on the black rubber. Bending down, she turned the blue-haired girl over to see a giant smile on Natsuki's face.

"That was fun," the blue-haired girl said, grabbing the older girl's arm so that Shizuru would fall on top of her. Heaving, Natsuki gazed at Shizuru's face; those dark cherry eyes that reminded Natsuki so much of blood, those light strands of tan that formed beautifully arched eyebrows, the button nose, the pale complexion. Together they formed the elegance that was Shizuru, but right now with the faint smudge of dirt on the older girl's cheeks and the mess that Shizuru's perfect hair had become, the other girl seemed just like a kid.

"What to do next," Natsuki asked, too tired to move at the moment.

"I thought you said you had a plan for the whole day," Shizuru gibed, remembering her friend's earlier words.

"Oh hush."

A couple of other kids were looking their way and many found it odd that a girl would be telling her doll to shut up.

"I know!" Natsuki said, suddenly sitting upright. "Close your eyes!"

"Ara, is Natsuki going to…" as her words faded, Shizuru closed her eyes as requested and parted her lips slightly as though expecting…

"Ew, no! Just trust me." Unwinding Shizuru's scarf, Natsuki then tied it so it would securely forbid the older girl from seeing.

"I'm scared," Shizuru said jokingly, to which the younger girl playfully hit the doll's arm. Pulling the two of them up, Natsuki then held Shizuru's hand and began to walk.

_Natsuki is holding my hand. It feels warm, though a little rough. Where are you taking me?

* * *

_

"Kuga-san, you're so funny," the brown haired woman said, giggling like a schoolgirl. The baby boy – who was later identified as Yuusuke – had already fallen asleep, which allowed Masami and Ryo to converse without having to constantly attend to the baby. He felt strangely calm by the woman's side, and every time she'd momentarily lay her hand on him or every time she laughed, he felt his heart race.

"So why are you really here?" she asked, wiping a tear that had escaped due to her intense giggle fit.

"My daughter asked me to bring her here," he was then reminded exactly why he was here in the first place. Looking to the children's section, he noticed that Natsuki was no longer there, nor was the creepy doll. Standing up to confirm his fear, he excused himself to run to the lot where he frantically began calling out his daughter's name.

"Kuga-san, what's wrong?" Masami asked with such innocence.

"My daughter, she was just here!" he stated in a rush. Day one with his daughter and he'd already lost her.

"I know this will sound really stupid, but my mom always told me to stay where you are if you're lost. The other person will eventually find you. Besides, what if your daughter comes back and realizes you're gone. What will she do?" Masami had a good point, but Ryo still didn't like the idea of his Natsuki roaming around Koganei Park alone.

"Just stay here with me, she'll turn up eventually." Had it been Mutsumi who said these words, he would have disobeyed them immediately. However, with Masami's pleasant voice, he felt lulled by it to the point that he would do anything she said. Nodding, the two returned to the stone bench.

* * *

"Open your eyes!" Natsuki said enthusiastically as she removed the scarf that obstructed Shizuru's sight. The sudden incoming light was bright, and the older girl had to squint after walking around in darkness. 

"Wah…" She felt awed by the sight before her. Hundreds of cherry blossom trees surrounded them, their pinkish white leaves defoliating due to the winter season. A gentle breeze blew and Shizuru watched in amazement as the blossoms gracefully fell as though in a dance.

"This is so beautiful, Natsuki," Shizuru said, twirling so she could see the trees at all angles. Natsuki could only smile as she watched her beloved friend fall in love with the special area that her parents showed her years ago.

"How did you – "

"Find this place?" Natsuki finished. "The first time I came here, my parents took me here. I think I was six. They said it was where they shared their first kiss; it's a really special place."

"It's amazing," Shizuru was still mesmerized by the beauty of the scenery. Amongst the two girls were many lovers that were sharing very tender moments just as Natsuki's parents once did.

Would it be strange to know that Natsuki loved to watch cherry blossom petals dance in the wind? Shizuru turned to Natsuki who had a sense of tranquility about her. The tomboyish energy had temporarily vanished and was replaced by a calm and nature-loving one. Taking Natsuki's hand into hers, Shizuru gave the younger girl a cheerful smile. The action, in turn, circulated unfamiliar warmth in Natsuki's heart, and the blue-haired girl found herself welcoming the contact.

* * *

"If you don't mind me asking, where is your wife? Unless you…" 

"No, I wasn't raped," Ryo said in jest, but a part of him wished that he, like Masami, wasn't married at the moment. He didn't want to tell her of his shame, but at the same time felt compelled to expose himself fully to this woman that he just met.

"I'm married. My wife… we… just got into a fight and so we're taking a break," he answered, somewhat truthfully. Whether Mutsumi's intentions of leaving him were meant to be a break, he didn't know.

"Oh," she blushed, "Now I'm the one that feels silly. I shouldn't have intruded. It's your personal matter." She held her hands up to show she meant no harm.

"Don't worry, you entrusted me with your issues, I should show the same respect."

* * *

Back at home, the night sky fell and consumed the day's light. The crescent moon hanging high in the sky illuminated the city below. However, with the city's lights perhaps it would be better to say that the city brightened the sky. Masami's conjecture proved to be correct when Natsuki and Shizuru returned safely to the playground after an hour of playing in the blossoms. Upon his daughter's arrival, Ryo scooped her up into his arms to introduce her to his new lady friend. Dismissing her as "just another mom at the park," Natsuki politely greeted the woman though she did not show any remote interest in Masami. Shizuru, on the other hand, held in her hand two blossom petals that she'd found in perfection condition. She would keep them forever to remember this day. 

"What a day," Natsuki said, collapsing onto her bed after eating a pizza that her father ordered. Shizuru was also on the bed – reading another book, _Little Women,_ with Duran nestled in her arms.

"Thank you so much for today, Natsuki. I hate to say it, but I'd like to go outside with you every now and then." Setting down her book, she made space on the bed so the two of them could lie down.

"Nah, you're going to be stuck here; you're my prisoner. It'll be like that story with the girl trapped in the tower with the really long hair."

"Rapunzel? Then who will be my prince to save me?" Shizuru chuckled at the familiarity of this game they often played. One person would usually start a tease and the next person would go along with it until someone can't think of anything to say as a comeback.

"Me!" Natsuki proclaimed as she snatched her plushy back into her own arms. "I would rescue you, but then I would also trap you because I want you all to myself."

"Ara, how selfish Natsuki is." However, somewhere inside, Shizuru was glad about Natsuki possessiveness. The time for dessert suddenly came into mind, and Natsuki hopped off her bed.

"Oh! Let me bring the cake, hold on." And with that, a blue blur dashed out the door. Shizuru, who thought of the cake as a mere after-dinner snack, would surely not expect her name on the cake as well as a bag of wrapped capsules._ I knew I was right that today would be extra special._

"Ta-da," the tomboy said, holding the cake platter in one hand and two plates, two forks, and a knife in the other. Shizuru wondered if Ryo even knew his daughter currently had a knife in her possession.

"A whole cake?" Was Natsuki really that hungry?

"Of course! The cake's the most important part!" By this Natsuki meant the most important part of a birthday, but Shizuru, who wasn't aware that it was her own birthday, thought the blue-haired girl meant that cake was the most important of a meal.

"And why is that?" Shizuru was interested in hearing the logic behind Natsuki's belief in the importance of such a sweet good.

"Well, unless you think it's the presents, in that case – "

"Presents?" Shizuru was now completely confused. One wouldn't receive presents during dinner, at least not that she remembered.

"Yeah, presents or cake. Don't tell me you're one of those sappy girls who thinks it's all about the time spent with friends and family." The younger girl set the cake down by the nightstand as she went into the hiding place to retrieve her presents for Shizuru.

"Well, friends and family are important, but isn't the meal the main purpose?" Shizuru answered, still unsure of the relevance of presents for a dinner… or cake for that matter.

"The meal? Really?" Natsuki never considered dinner as the most important part of a birthday; it was such a part of everyday life, so she never really thought much of it. Apparently, however, her closest friend thought otherwise, which left Natsuki feeling inadequate in her planning.

"I would think so. Without the meal how could you eat a dinner?" Shizuru elaborated. She knew Natsuki could be dense at times, but this was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Dinner?" Natsuki blurted in her confusion. _Was that what Shizuru thought we were talking about? Wait a second… does she not know?_

"Yes, silly, what did you think we were talking about?" The tan strands fell to one side as Shizuru tilted her head in an endearing way.

"Shizuru…" The blue-haired girl shook her head in disbelief. Her older, prettier companion apparently didn't know what today was after all. "Don't you know what today is?"

"Well, Natsuki, you don't have a calendar in your room, and I haven't exactly been counting each day I've been here," Shizuru explained. It was true, though Shizuru never cared too much for the date. Why would the day be so important when it was the time she kept her eye on? That way she knew when her beloved companion would come home, when she'd eat dinner, when she'd return to her room…

"Ah…" And everything became clear. The green-eyed girl hit her forehead lightly with her palm upon the realization that she should've informed her friend earlier. No matter, this would play an equally satisfying show. "Why don't you look at what's on the cake?"

Raising an arched eyebrow, the Kyoto girl then walked over suspiciously to the cake and saw on the green spongy surface an indistinguishable scribble of purple.

"Um…" She wasn't sure what it was. It seemed like a poorly drawn stick figure with an almost afro-like hairdo. If this was a human, and Shizuru hoped it wasn't, the proportions would horrifyingly off. The neck was just as long in length as the body, and one arm was about three times longer than the other one. The circle, which the older girl presumed to be the head, had two dots that were connected to each other and beneath it was a long curved line like a smile.

"Is it an… alien?" she guessed; no other creature seemed to fit the image.

"What? Oh wait." Embarrassed that she put the side with the poorly drawn image, Natsuki quickly blocked Shizuru's view so she could reveal the cake's other side. "Here."

"Shizu…ru?" the older girl read her name aloud. "My name, but why?"

"Because…" The younger girl grabbed the bag containing the many orbs and poured them out before her friend. "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHIZURU!"

"Eh?" _My birthday? Today's my birthday?_ Shizuru reached down and picked up one of the many colorfully wrapped orbs. The ball, though its shape was lumpier than that, was weightless and rather large. There were many different sized balls and Shizuru wondered what was inside.

"Yup, happy ninth birthday, Shizuru," Natsuki eagerly repeated. The expression on her older friend's face was priceless – confusion, shock, and happiness all mixed into one.

"And you went to all this trouble?" The pieces of the giant puzzle were starting to make sense and Shizuru, who was always good at observing, felt dumb for not realizing it earlier.

"Just for you." The blue-haired girl gave her a smile that could challenge the Cheshire cat's in terms of size.

"Natsuki, I…" She wanted to cry. Never had someone done something as magnificently amazing as this. Or even if they did, the thoughtfulness could barely compare itself to what her friend did for her. Tears began to gather in her eyes, and figuring there was no reason to hide happy tears, Shizuru allowed them to slip out and caress her hot face.

"Shizuru? Did I do something wrong? Erm, this is a happy thing right?" What wrong thing did she do now?

"No, I'm just really happy, Natsuki. This is the best birthday I've ever had, thank you so much!" And with all her might, the older girl launched herself at her friend and gave the tightest squeeze she could possibly give.

"Isn't this your first human birthday too? Being a doll and all. I… just wanted to give you a good birthday. I mean, you were the reason why my birthday was special, so I don't know…"

"I thought you didn't like me when you first met me," the older girl teased; she wasn't really offended about their first meeting.

"Yeah, well… a talking doll is kind of weird," Natsuki said, softly pushing her latching friend away so she could recover her personal bubble. Shizuru crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue as though to emphasize her eccentricity.

"Open your presents! Open your presents!" the green-eyed girl said excitedly. For the most part, she wanted to know if Shizuru would even like them, but a little part wanted to know just what mysterious treasures were hidden in those capsules.

* * *

"Hehe, I feel like a princess." The doll lifted her left hand to admire the giant plastic ruby ring on her middle finger. 

"I remember a while back you wanted to look for some accessories, but you couldn't find anything. So, I picked one of those jewelry capsule machines," the blue-haired girl confessed. Although her intentions were good, the ring's size was outlandishly large and contrasted with Shizuru's slim fingers. Still, the gift entertained the older girl, who now began to act as though she were royalty.

"Help me put on the pendant on, dear Natsuki," the birthday girl commanded as she held her hair up so Natsuki could clasp the necklace. The silver chain with the tiny pink heart, a girly piece that Natsuki swore she'd never wear herself, seemed to match Shizuru slightly better than the ring. The younger girl thanked the heavens that her friend received a color that she could match. Taking the thin chain into her hands, Natsuki followed Shizuru's demand and marveled at the even paler skin color of the older girl's neck.

"There," the blue-haired girl stated as she started to gather all the discarded wrapping paper. Her father might blow a gasket if he ever saw the mess. Natsuki had to admit she liked that Shizuru took her time opening the presents. The older girl took her painstaking time to make sure she wouldn't make any small tears as she unfolded the present. Shizuru would even apologize if she accidentally tore the paper, which thankfully rarely happened. Looking at her beloved friend, Natsuki involuntarily twitched at the memory. _It took almost thirty minutes to open half those presents!_

"Ara, Natsuki's staring." The older girl broke Natsuki's concentration. "Do I look that pretty?" Shizuru chuckled at her own comment as she held up her ruby ring and tossed her hair like a movie star.

"Hm…" Dipping her finger into the cake's red bean paste, Natsuki then smeared it onto Shizuru's unblemished cheek, "Yes, very pretty, gorgeous."

The blue-haired girl snorted at the sight and laughed even harder at Shizuru's innocent expression. Of course, Shizuru wasn't going to let her wicked friend get the last laugh, and so she walked closer and embraced her friend tightly.

"Oh, Natsuki is so kind," the older girl made sure that their cheeks were touching so that some of the red bean paste would then transfer onto the blue-haired girl's face. Surprised by this sort of revenge, hugging and red bean, Natsuki growled in annoyance, but allowed Shizuru to indulge in her fun.

* * *

"Ara, Natsuki this cake is delicious," the older girl rarely ate anything, since she didn't need to, or that's what the younger girl thought. Smirking at the compliment, Natsuki crossed her arms and muttered an "of course". 

"I have a question though…" There was still something on Shizuru's mind that needed to be answered – something that had bothered her ever since she saw the cake.

"Yes?" Natuski said warmly, thinking Shizuru was probably going to ask about why she was being so kind. It would be the perfect timing to then give Shizuru the card that she poured her heart, soul, and mind into.

"What was that blob on the cake, the other side. Oh, by the way, your stroke order for Ru was incorrect," the birthday girl proudly mused as she took another bite of the fabulous morsel.

"Here's your – What?" That wasn't the right question. What a way to ruin the moment, Shizuru. "What do you mean?"

Spinning the cake so the drawing was exposed, Shizuru then pointed at it, the large ruby protruding making it difficult to point.

"Isn't it obvious?" Natsuki said, annoyed. She obviously knew it was, so why couldn't Shizuru tell?

"I don't… know. It looks strange." Indeed the picture was strange to any viewer except Natsuki and maybe Takeda.

"It's you!"

"….HAHA," the Kyoto doll burst into laughter at Natsuki's joke. That hideous thing was her? It looked like a gross between a giraffe, ape, and bear.

"Really! See here's your hair, and your evil smile that you always make before you tease me, and here's your – "

"I don't think my neck is that long," Shizuru mentioned, measuring the length of her neck with her thumb and middle finger.

"Hmph, as if you can do better," Natsuki challenged. Shizuru chuckled because she knew that she too wasn't that great in the arts. She was knowledgeable in the art of tea ceremonies, but was never acquainted with drawing or painting.

"You're right," Shizuru said honestly, letting her laughter die so that her younger friend wouldn't feel as self-conscious about the drawing – Natsuki was, after all, very proud.

"I'm glad you liked the cake," the younger girl stated. She liked being complimented on her accomplishment.

"It was very good, Natsuki. I never knew you could make green tea cakes," Shizuru was piling the plates and forks together, so the room would look more organized.

"What? Isn't it your favorite? Aren't you a tea addict?" The younger girl remembered how on various occasions the doll requested just to have a cup of tea as her source of food.

"Ara, that doesn't mean I have to like everything that has tea," the older girl chuckled at Natsuki's strange logic. "My favorite is Japanese cheesecake."

"…ah ha ha," the blue-haired girl let out a nervous laugh. _So that was the name of the cake. _Either way, Shizuru was grateful for the new experience and the memory of a lifetime.

* * *

Ryo eventually entered the room to check on the progress of his daughter, and boy was he surprised at the free laughter coming from his daughter. Through a crack in the door, he watched as his daughter talked and played with her doll as though she were a real person. It was almost creepy to watch as Natsuki would open presents for her doll and put the fake jewelry onto the doll. Natsuki even fed the doll cake! He was well aware of the concept of imaginary friends, but this seemed a little extreme. 

Knocking on the door, he interrupted the two girls so that he could take the remainders of the cake and the dirty utensils downstairs. He kissed Natsuki affectionately on the top of her head before excusing himself. In the kitchen, he washed the plates thoroughly and refrigerated the cake. He was an ideal husband – one that knew how to cook and clean and would always be of assistance if his wife needed it. Mutsumi, however, rarely ever needed that help. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, ripped piece of paper. And on that paper, in beautiful, distinct penmanship was the name Takano Masami as well as a phone number. Walking to the phone on the nearby counter, he dialed the number on the paper.

"Hello?" questioned the familiar, friendly tone.

"Takano-san," he started, his fingers tensely gripping the phone.

"Ah, Kuga-san, how are you?" she asked casually. In the background, Ryo could hear the faint cries of Yuusuke.

"I was wondering, if you'd like to come over tomorrow for dinner." It was a harmless suggestion. Just a dinner between new friends. Nothing to it. He was keeping to his promise… right?

* * *

After a relaxing shower, Natsuki returned to find that Shizuru had returned to her previous perfect state. No messy hair, no red bean staining her perfect face, the only different thing was that Shizuru wasn't dressed in her elegant dress. The ruby ring was locked back into its capsule, but the older girl continued to wear the pink necklace. She wore pajamas, a light blue set that Natsuki left for her before she went to shower. In her mind, the blue-haired girl wondered how Shizuru bathed. 

Walking over to her cabinet, she opened the drawer and there lay a white envelope with the words "To Shizuru" on it. She took it into her hand and held it behind her back. Shizuru, who was just as silent, observed as Natsuki walked over and handed her the letter.

"For you, read it when I'm not here. I don't wanna become another victim of a hug," she said with a smirk, before hopping onto her bed and going under the covers. Winter was officially here and she had to get two extra blankets to keep herself warm.

Clutching the letter to her heart, Shizuru wondered about its contents. It must've been something overly sentimental if Natsuki didn't want her to read it now.

"Thank you, Natsuki. Today was definitely the best day of my life," the older girl said sincerely. Natsuki would've smiled if her tone hadn't seemed so sad. Why was the older girl suddenly so quiet? Looking at the excess room on her bed, Natsuki then flipped one side of the blankets revealing the white bed sheet.

"It's… going to be cold. Why don't you… sleep with me?" the younger girl asked, her voice flushed with uncertainty. There was no tease, no little smirk, Shizuru simply walked over and wordlessly accepted the offer.

Lying on the extra pillow, Shizuru smelled the wonderful aroma of vanilla. Natsuki's back was facing her; the other girl probably was a bit shy about the situation. _She must not have a lot of sleepovers. _

"Last present," Natsuki said, her expressive face now looking at Shizuru's. From beneath the blankets, the muzzle of a dog plushy came into view.

"Duran, I want you to have him," the blue-haired girl said, pushing the pup into Shizuru's chest so that the girl would have another thing to hold besides the letter.

"Natsuki, I can't take this. Duran is yours… He's important to you."

"That's why I want you to have him. I found something even more important to me," she lowered her face, clearly uncomfortable with her own words. "He's still special to me… I just… want you to have him." _That sounded so stupid!_ She wanted to slap herself; she had rehearsed this scene in her head many times. "Just take him!" she shouted before turning around. The bed suddenly became warmer and Shizuru could tell that Natsuki's face was turning a dark shade of red.

Scooting closer, Shizuru cuddled against Natsuki's back. It would help keep them both warm anyway. Natsuki shut her eyes and muttered one last "happy birthday" before being whisked away to dreamland.

"Natsuki…" A tear was sliding down from those crimson eyes. Today had truly been the best day of her life, why did it have to end now? Her birthday had finally come and so had her time. With all her might, Shizuru tried to hold in the tears, she didn't want Natsuki to wake up… didn't want Natsuki to know. Now, tears were freely cascading down those pallid cheeks, but her sobs were hushed. _Don't wake up Natsuki, don't wake up Natsuki…_ she repeated to herself.

"Natsuki… Natsuki…" she whispered so quietly that no other person could hear her, not even Duran who was snuggled in her arms. With all the fun she had been having, Shizuru forgot about _that_. Her deepest fear of disappearing was now plaguing her mind…

Oh, how she wished there was a calendar in the room. The ticking of the alarm clock seemed to only mock her.

"Natsuki… don't let them take me away…"

All good things must come to an end…

Author's note: I am such a slow updater T.T, but to compensate.. this chapter is extra long XD. But that's probably because there were a lot of things to cover. I also seem to be a horizontal line abuser; they're just so handy I can't resist! Thanks to my lovely beta, Olivia, who catches all my silly, silly errors. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, but what will happen to Shizuru! Happy belated Chinese New Year and early Valentine's Day!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Same as before except for some implied sexual activity.

Chapter 10:

"SHIZURU!" Natsuki's voiced cried out as she used all her might to fling open the downstairs closet's door. Inside were various contents that one would usually find in a closet. Her parent's numerous coats, or rather just her father's now, were neatly hung up on a thin metal bar that stretched across the top of the closet. Reaching in, Natsuki brushedff against the black trench coat her father wore that day he took them to the park. The fabric felt comforting, causing her to temporarily forget her grand search for the missing Shizuru. Instead, the eight-year-old girl reminisced about how she once refused to listen to her mother's advice about bringing a jacket on their trip to the zoo. Once there, Mutsumi scoffed as she watched her poor daughter shiver due to the windy weather. And as much as Natsuki pretended that the cold didn't bother her, Ryo noticed and like a gentleman offered his coat to his daughter. Smiling at the memory, Natsuki reminded herself why she loved her daddy so much.

There were some boxes containing things that her family didn't need anymore, but didn't have the heart to throw afway. Things like old gifts or what her parents referred to as past relics. Natsuki, too, had a box, but it was smaller in size and didn't contain as much. She didn't really have a problem with throwing away things she didn't need. Rarely was she ever so fond of an object that she'd want to keep it, and even if she did why put it in a box? Special things deserved to be showcased in her room like her toy motorcycles.

After scanning the closet three times, Natsuki still could not see any obvious sign of the doll. The blue-haired girl fgrowled to herself in frustration, unwilling to believe that Shizuru wasn't hiding in _this_ closet either. With nimble fingers, she went through each and every article of clothing – just in case Shizuru was using the coats to conceal herself. When Natsuki was finally convinced that the Kyoto doll wasn't in there, she ran to the kitchen in hopes that her friend might be there.

"Stupid Shizuru, where are you?" She felt lucky that her mother wasn't home at the moment because it'd be hard for her to explain why she was opening all the cabinets. Natsuki always believed that Shizuru had an advantage at these sorts of games; because of the older girl's natural ability to transform back to her doll form, it gave Shizuru the possibilities of hiding in places where children her age usually couldn't fit into. Thus, the youngest Kuga always had to be extra creative in thinking where her friend could be hiding.

"Shizuru… where could you be?" the emerald-eyed girl whispered, now with a little more desperation. She had looked everywhere! She knew all the best hiding spots in the house, all the possible spots there were, not to mention she was the self-proclaimed Hide-and-Go-Seek champion. A strange feeling of worry began to envelope Natsuki. It was as though Shizuru had vanished – nowhere to be seen or found.

Running to her father's office, which she had already checked twice, she took a blank piece of white paper from the printer. She sat herself down in her father's large, comfortable office chair and placed the paper flat in front of her. With the clutter of her father's documents and whatnot, Natsuki sensed her playful imagination taking over. Feeling a bit like a corporate executive herself, she sat up as straightly as she could and borrowed one of her father's fancy Montblanc writing instruments.

"Our meeting has begun; today we are here to discuss Fujino Shizuru's possible whereabouts. Does anyone have any suggestions on where Fujino-san could be?" She spun her chair to her left, looking at a stack of manila folders.

"Make a map and cross out the areas you've been in," Natsuki whispered, trying to act as a ventriloquist for the folders.

"Excellent idea, Machida-kun!" And with that, she uncapped the pen and drew a childish imitation of her house's blueprints. She crossed out every single room except the garage, since there was no way Shizuru would hide in an open area like that. Or would she? Circling the garage room, Natsuki then thought of any other potential areas.

"The only place I haven't checked besides the garage is …" Natsuki's mouth formed into a small "o" as she realized another location – a much more likely location. _There's no way she'd hide there; it's so cold…_ Standing up, she bowed to her "fellow staff members" and dashed out, leaving an out-of-place chair, a poorly drawn illustration, and an uncapped pen as evidence that she'd been in her father's office.

"She'd better be there," the young girl whispered to herself as she opened the sliding door that granted access to the backyard. In the sky, a large, looming, grey cloud made its way into the center of the sky, nearly overwhelming the once bright blue color. The grey cloud was accompanied by light breezes which would have been considered a relief if it had only been summer. Instead, the wind caused her to shiver, her blue hair tossed wildly in the air.

"SHIZURU!" She was still wearing her pajamas, which didn't supply very much warmth against the wind's increasing speed. Slipping into some sandals, Natsuki made her way to the middle of her backyard, her arms wrapped around her body to stop her shivering.

"Found you!" Natsuki shouted, jumping behind the large tree, only to find no one there. Suddenly, the game wasn't that fun anymore. Could this even be considered a game? A game of Hide-and-Go-Seek wouldn't take someone over an hour to play, especially when it was just two people. This was becoming serious. Using the tree as a shield against the wind, Natsuki continued to call out Shizuru's name. The shouts eventually developed into concerned screams._ If Shizuru was really here she'd freeze! She can feel the cold right? If she can feel pain, she can certainly feel this! _

"Shizuru! Please, come out! I giv–" Despite her apprehension, Natsuki wouldn't allow herself to surrender. "SHIZURU! This isn't fun anymore, let's play something else! Shizu – "

_Clunk!_ The blue-haired girl furrowed her eyebrows as her hand automatically went to touch where her head had been hit. On the ground near her lay the object: a formal black evening shoe, which had so wrongly attacked her. She lifted her head upwards, green eyes searching for the perpetrator.

"Ara, sorry Natsuki, it seems that my shoe magically slipped," a familiar, yet annoying, voice stated. And surely enough, there was the doll, sitting on one of the higher branches of the tree with one of those I-didn't-do-anything-Natsuki grins. The doll's legs dangled above Natsuki while her hands gripped the branch tightly to maintain her balance. "I hope it didn't hit you."

The younger girl smirked at her friend's obvious lie; a sense of relief flooded her now that she had finally found her friend. Reaching down, she grabbed the shoe by its width and threw it in Shizuru's direction.

"Hey!" Shizuru involuntarily closed her eyes as the shoe zipped right past her and fell once again onto the soft grass of the backyard. This time, however, Natsuki didn't bother to try again and instead decided to join her friend up in the tree. Climbing trees had never been an issue for Natsuki, though she found it a little difficult this time due to her current attire. When she finally reached where Shizuru was, she was cordially greeted with a smile. The dress Shizuru wore had been slightly ripped by the tree's rough exterior. Her chestnut hair, which the older girl prized and would groom until perfect condition, was tangled and at the moment seemed to have lost its luster. Shizuru would be – should be – appalled by her own appearance. At that thought, Natsuki threw her head back in laughter.

"What's so funny? What if you actually hit me and I fell?" the doll asked in a somewhat serious tone. She had the misfortune of thinking that her owner was laughing because of her reaction to the shoe being thrown at her. But then again, Natsuki found that hilarious as well.

"I'd… let you fall. Besides, it's your fault for dropping the shoe on me in the first place!" The blue-haired girl began to laugh again as she saw Shizuru's offended expression. She wasn't sure whether it was because of her first or second comment, but nevertheless Natsuki was amused by the older girl's display of funny faces. Who knew the other girl could be so expressive?

"I had to stop you from screaming my name. You sounded like you were going to cry! 'Shizuru! Shizuru!'" the red-eyed girl teased, enjoying the fact that her owner was now the one being laughed at.

"Well, it was as though you vanished into thin air! I-I… was scared," the younger girl whispered as a shudder ran through her body. Perhaps it was due to the cold weather that she shivered, but Natsuki knew it was because of the thought of her friend disappearing. Luckily for her, this was just a game and Shizuru couldn't really disappear. She'd be with her always. Forever.

"Haha, I don't even see why I was so scared. You'll always be here with me, right?" Like gems, Natsuki's emerald eyes sparkled with such childlike openness that Shizuru felt herself being torn apart. Suddenly, the doll was devoid of her previous cheerful, mischievous self. Her red eyes became a dark scarlet as the storm cloud above them consumed the entire sky, leaving no sign of the sun's glow.

"Of course," Shizuru said in a hushed voice.

"Promise?" Natsuki asked with such need of reassurance that Shizuru had to smile. Over the past months with Natsuki, the older girl watched as her friend changed from a cold and uncaring meanie to a more open, uncertain, and friendly meanie. The cobalt-haired, jade-eyed girl with the adorable growls and twitches was her best friend, so why was Shizuru so hesitant about the promise?

"Promise," the older girl said, putting on her most credible smile.

"Hm?" The younger girl brought her pinky up while leaving her remaining fingers locked loosely into a fist.

"What?" Shizuru didn't understand why Natsuki would be showing her her pinky. Was there something on it?

"Geez Shizuru! It's a pinky promise; it means that you won't break the promise ever! And if you do then I get your pinky! Everyone knows that!" For some reason, the last comment brought a strange, yet satisfied smile to Natsuki's lips. Shizuru could only imagine what gruesome interest her friend would have in owning her right pinky. _This promise seems a bit scary… does she really get to have my pinky? How come I've never heard of this? Maybe it's something that kids in Tokyo do. What would she do with it… put it on display in her room? _The image of her pinky being framed atop Natsuki's desk did not seem aesthetically fpleasing to her.

"I pinky promise," she said, copying Natsuki's actions so that their smallest digits crossed over each other like an x. Natsuki then took the liberty of completing the promise by hooking her pinky around Shizuru's. Once content that the promise was secure, she changed the topic to one that didn't involve as much mushiness. Then again, today was a special day.

"Good! So about today…" Her younger companion began babbling about something – probably Christmas – but Shizuru heard nothing but mumbles. Her mind was set on something else. _Always Natsuki…_ but just because she said it, promised it with all her heart, it didn't mean it would necessarily come true…

* * *

_December 19__th_

"_Natsuki, please don't let them take me away," she mouthed, hoping – and at the same time not hoping – that her beloved roommate would hear her. And though she used as much willpower as she could to resist trembling, her body was acting on its own accord. Tears, now uncontrollable, cascaded freely down her pallid cheeks, causing her entire face to flush with heat. Natsuki's pillow, where the aroma of her owner's shampoo could be easily smelled, now had an ever-growing spot of dampness caused by Shizuru's tears._

_The light sounds of Natsuki's snoring were a clear indication that her owner had fallen fast asleep – completely oblivious to Shizuru's pleading murmurs. And at that very sound, Shizuru cried harder, because all she wanted to do at the moment was wake Natsuki up and tell her. To tell her… what a concept that would be. But Shizuru knew the rules and also knew to abide by them, for to break a rule would always yield dire consequences. With no one to listen to her wishes, she leaned her warm forehead against Natsuki's back and waited for her time to come._

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Because Shizuru lacked an internal clock, and because she didn't bother to count down the exact seconds, she had no idea what time it was. And as much as the chestnut-haired girl would've loved to just watch Natsuki, there were things in the room that she wanted to see one last time. Yes, Shizuru wanted to memorize Natsuki's room exactly how it was. Gently retreating from the warmth of her friend, Shizuru picked up the alarm clock that always seemed to bother Natsuki and read its time. _

"_11:49, I still have some time." So with the noisy instrument in one hand and Duran secured by her other arm, Shizuru walked around Natsuki's room, committing everything to memory. Usually, Shizuru understood the importance of privacy, but at this point, it didn't really matter to her anymore. Opening Natsuki's drawers, she looked at the various pieces of clothing her friend had. The loose, solid-colored T-shits, the cargo pants used for climbing, Natsuki's favorite blue hooded jacket, her… underwear. Slam! That wasn't something Shizuru needed to memorize, though she did note that the first one she saw had a pink heart on it. _

"_Oh Duran, I'm going to miss you. Will you promise to look after Natsuki when I'm gone?" Tonight, the stuffed dog's eyes seemed to lament, as though they were saying "I will miss you, Shizuru. Thank you for everything." She laid her lips, which were moistened with salty droplets, on the dog's nose as a final affectionate kiss to the plushy. Looking at the remaining time, Shizuru then grabbed the letter Natsuki wrote for her and inserted it into a convenient pocket on her dress. She couldn't read it because then it would be harder to leave, harder for her to accept her cursed fate._

_There then came a point when no more tears escaped from Shizuru's eyes, not because of her acceptance of "the end", but rather due to the inability to produce anymore tears. She never thought it could be possible to cry to point that there was nothing left to cry. Sighing to herself, she sat down on her familiar couch and decided the last five seconds she'd count down. It'd be like New Year's, only without the fun of being with her friend. _

"_Five…" An image of a smiling Natsuki entered her mind._

"_Four…" In her mind, an image of Natsuki was saying something, "_Shizuru…"

"_Th-three..." she stuttered at this point. Her body was shaking in fear. Subconsciously, she closed her eyes tightly. Is this how death feels like? Natsuki was still speaking to her. _"You're my…."

"_Two…" Here it comes… _"best…"

"_One!" She inhaled a decent amount of air, creating a loud gasp, and all at once, her body tensed. The Natsuki in her mind seemed to be mouthing something… _"friend…"

_Shizuru opened her eyes to see if her surroundings had in any way changed, but to her surprise, nothing had. She was still in Natsuki's room, still on that couch with the neglected bear, still with Duran in her arms, STILL WITH NATSUKI! In disbelief, she checked the clock again and read that it was indeed twelve o'clock. It was the next day, so why wasn't she gone?_

"_Maybe Natsuki's clock is fast." So she waited, staring at the clock. Her heart beat erratically at the possibility that her birthday wish might have come true. She watched as the time changed from 12:00 to 12:26 to 12:46. There was no way that Natsuki's clock could be that much faster, could it? Or perhaps she had misinterpreted the riddle and it wasn't yet her time to leave? But she had researched so much, it had to be! Or… maybe… just maybe her birthday wish had come true. Exhausted from constantly checking her condition and the time, the nine-year- old eventually passed out on the sofa she called her bed. _

"_Shizuru! Shizuru!" Wearily, pale eyelashes lifted to reveal beautifully haunting red orbs. Natsuki's own stunning green gems seemed to be looking at her awkwardly._

"_Natsuki?" she asked, not sure if this was a dream of if she really was still with her beloved friend._

"_I thought I said you could sleep with me, what are you doing back on the sofa?" Shizuru detected a hint of offense in the younger girl's tone. Or was it worry? Natsuki didn't want to let Shizuru know, but secretly she feared that her snoring bothered the doll or that moved around too much. _

"_Natsuki!" the Kyoto girl shouted, suddenly wrapping her arms around Natsuki's neck. The blue-haired girl, now even more puzzled by Shizuru's actions, just allowed her friend to indulge in the hug. _

"_Er…what are you doing?" What was she supposed to say to this?_

"_You… kicked me off the bed and grumbled about conquering the world! I was so scared that I ran back to my own bed," the older girl teased happily, watching in content as her friend's face became flushed._

"_Wha – "_

"_Just kidding," the older girl said, making a silly face at her younger roommate. Natsuki was always easier to tease in the morning. _

"_Ah! Stupid! Why do I always fall for…" Shizuru's free laughter prevented Natsuki from finishing her sentence. So instead, she had to take matters into her own hands. "You'll pay for that!"_

"_Oh no, the big bad Natsuki is coming!" the older girl sang as her blue-haired owner chased her._

"_Shut up! It's not your birthday anymore, so I don't need to be so nice to you anymore!" the younger shouted back as she lunged forward in an attempt to collide into Shizuru and bring both of them down._

"_Does that mean Natsuki doesn't like me after all?" Shizuru turned to face Natsuki and gazed at her with hurt eyes. Although she'd often feign this emotion, it amused her how the younger girl would fall for it each time. _

"_Wah Shizuru.. you know I –"_

"_Ha, got you again!" and knowing Natsuki's reaction, Shizuru took shelter under the Tokyo girl's sheets._

"_SHIZURU!!"

* * *

_

"Shizuru? Oi, Shizuru, are you okay?" Snapping out of her flashback, Shizuru shook her head as though to clear her thoughts. She turned her head in her friend's direction and noticed that familiar perplexed expression.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Good, Natsuki's words were coherent to her again.

"I said that we should probably get going. The stupid Christmas Eve party is starting soon… you know how mom is with these things." The cobalt-haired girl looked down at her now dirty pajamas. Her mother wasn't going to be happy about that or that her doll's dress, which was just as filthy. The younger girl heaved a sigh at the thought of being pampered by her mother, who had returned yesterday from her absence.

"Your mother's back already?" Mutsumi had gone to the grocery store earlier in order to prepare this year's delicious Christmas dinner. Natsuki swore that it was one of the better aspects of her mother. These Christmas dinners, including Christmas chicken and a Christmas cake, were one of the few parties her parents threw that Natsuki enjoyed. Of course, the other obnoxious, unwanted children of her parent's co-workers would be there, but that was something the eight-year-old always dealt with. However, this year would be a bit different because she'd actually have someone she wanted to talk to: a friend.

"Shizuru, are you deaf? She's been nagging me to go inside for the longest time! Are you sure you're okay?" At the genuine concern, Shizuru's cherry lips smiled. She was probably getting the green-eyed girl into trouble, so she swiftly maneuvered around Natsuki, climbed down the tree, and stood at the bottom, beaming up at the other girl. The younger girl, on the other hand, could only twitch in response. Was Shizuru showing off? Gripping the branch tightly, Natsuki then dropped her body so that she was now lying on the branch. Shizuru's eyes widened in horror as she watched her friend do a spin on the branch, swing her legs onto the trunk of the tree, and after scaling down halfway, jumped.

As Natsuki leaped, a drop of liquid fell onto her nose. After landing, she straightened herself up, glancing above at the darkening cloud now making angry, grumble-like noises. Shizuru, who was retrieving her shoe, was suddenly pulled in the opposite direction. Luckily, she was just able to hook her index and middle finger into the heel of the shoe and thus successfully recovered her shoe. The younger girl, who had her hand tightly gripped around Shizuru's wrist, tugged with such ferocity that the older girl was helpless but to follow. Although her foot touched the cool blades of the grass and was poked by miniscule pebbles in the dirt, she ignored it all. The feeling of running with Natsuki in the rain felt absolutely invigorating.

"Natsuki…" The way Mutsumi dragged out her daughter's name nearly always meant that the younger Kuga did something wrong. The young mother felt a sense of déjà vu at the sight of Natsuki covered in dirt and before a party. She sighed as she quickly went to grab a towel from the laundry room so that when her daughter walked she wouldn't leave behind puddles of potential slips.

"Dry yourself off, then go shower, but no soaking in the tub today because we're short on time," It bothered her that the doll was also dirty. Knowing how attached Natsuki had recently become to that doll, Mutsumi figured it would be a good idea to clean the doll as well. Having her daughter carrying a dirty doll wouldn't leave a good impression; not to mention doing such an act would probably render Natsuki covered in dirt all over again.

"May I have your doll while you wash?" The older woman extended her hand, expecting her daughter to obey the simple request.

"Why?" And in Mutsumi's eyes, there was Natsuki, holding the doll possessively against her chest. But this was just a disguise caused by Shizuru's bizarre magic. What Natsuki was doing would be, in fact, considered much more adorable. Sometime when Natsuki was pulling the sandy-haired girl, her hand moved from the doll's wrist to the doll's hand. The blue-haired girl stood protectively in front of her older friend – a knight in shining armor defending his princess from an evil dragon.

"She's dirty, I was just going to clean her up." Mutsumi eyes briefly met the clock; the longer she had to convince Natsuki, the less time she had to prepare the Christmas dinner for today's guests.

"What's wrong with being dirty?" Shizuru asked Natsuki in jest, knowing perfectly well all the reasons why being covered with dirt was wrong.

"Yeah, what's wrong with being dirty?" Natsuki repeated with slightly more pizzazz. Mutsumi raised an eyebrow at her daughter's strange response.

"Because, dearest," she said, putting emphasis on the last word as she pushed her daughter in the direction of the stairs, "your father and I would prefer that you and your doll appear like two lovely angels for our annual Christmas Eve party."

"Lovely angels? We're going to dress up? You didn't tell me we'd be dressing up today!" Shizuru's eyes glistened with such luminosity, it frightened Natsuki. Of course, she didn't tell her; the older girl would use every opportunity to see her friend wearing pretty clothes. _Great job, Shizuru got lured to the dark side. _And now Natsuki was in the midst of a major internal conflict. One on side was her parents and her best friend on the other side was her freedom, her hatred for dresses, and not to mention her pride!

"Your father even picked out a dress for you to wear today, so you don't have to wear the red one anymore. It's midnight blue," Mutsumi tried. If the "your father wants you to" card didn't work, perhaps the young mother could make the dress seem more appealing.

"Natsuki! Hurry up and go shower! The guests are going to come!" the doll pressured her friend, who in return threw a very nasty glare.

"What happened to not wanting to be clean?" the blue-haired girl inquired, a bit irritated that her friend had turned against her.

"Well…" the doll started, before her smooth cheek was suddenly pinched by her owner.

"I thought you were on my side, traitor." The blue-haired girl's fingers squeezed even harder causing Shizuru to whimper in pain.

"Natsuki is such a meanie, what's wrong with wearing a dress? I always wear a dress, I'll be wearing a dress with you," the doll reminded her as she tried to break free from her Natsuki's cruel punishment for her "betrayal."

"Natsuki?" interjected her mother's voice. Natsuki quickly turned her head in her mother's direction to find the woman now looking very, _very_ confused. _Uh oh…_

"Yeah?" the eight-year-old asked nervously while removing her hand slowly from Shizuru's cheek. The doll, on the other hand, was beginning to feel very sorry for her dear friend.

"What are you doing?" There was just something really, no extremely, odd in seeing your daughter pinch and yell at an inanimate object. Sure, Mutsumi was aware of the concept of imaginary friends and an overactive imagination, but at this she was speechless. There were times when Mutsumi heard Natsuki talk to the dog plushy, Duran, but the interaction her daughter had with the doll was beyond that. It was as though Natsuki was really talking to the doll and in response, the doll would reply. Maybe this was a part of the curriculum in third grade these days. _Yeah right…_ _maybe it's because she barely has any friends and has to resort to using the doll…_ Mutsumi sighed at her own thoughts.

"Um, I'm going to go wash now." Awkwardly, Natsuki pushed Shizuru toward her mother. "You can go clean Shizuru up. Bye-bye!" And within the blink of an eye, the tomboy was gone.

"Shizuru?" Mutsumi looked down into the porcelain doll's red orbs and a sudden epiphany hit her. _Natsuki mentioned a "Shizuru" before. A friend. The friend she went shopping for! The friend that we baked that cake for!_ "Oh dear…" She rubbed her temples as the missing pieces came together.

"Mutsumi, the decorations are done," Ryo announced as he dusted his hands off. While Mutsumi was preparing for tonight's dinner, Ryo had been busy setting up decorations for the cheery event. There was a possibility that the chairman would be stopping by and he wanted to leave a good impression. Both Mutsumi and Natsuki enjoyed the colorful lights and the fake pine tree, and nothing says a perfect man like a happy family.

"Ryo, have you ever heard Natsuki talking about this doll?" the young woman asked, pointing at the doll.

"Yeah, she seems to like her a lot." The comment was so obvious that Mutsumi rolled her eyes at the lack of detail in her husband's answer.

"She talks to it a lot, thinks it's real," Ryo explained further after noticing his wife's annoyed expression.

"Do you think it's weird? I don't recall ever being like that –"

"Don't worry, Mutsumi. Just because you were popular as a child doesn't mean we all were. Some of us prefer the company of just one person and if in Natsuki's case that's a doll, then just let it be. It can be creepy at times, but all I know is that she laughs and smiles a lot more in the presence of that doll, and that's all that matters." Ryo was unsure of how much of what he just said he actually believed. Truth be told, he was also concerned, but who didn't have a good imaginary friend at that age? He, too, was alone in his younger years because of his previously chubby appearance. _At least a doll can't hurt your feelings…_

"Ryo, I'm impressed. What a very fatherly thing to say." The young man wasn't sure how he was supposed to take that comment; was it sarcasm or a genuine compliment? "Let's just hope you continue acting out this family man performance." With nothing left to say, Mutsumi walked to the washroom to clean the doll. Over the woman's shoulder, Shizuru watched as Ryo stood silently before muttering a barely audible curse word.

After returning to his sofa to recline after hard morning's work, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Digging it out, he proceeded to read the text message from a certain bunny.

"Shinichi,

It's almost Christmas, I miss you. I hope you visit me tomorrow during work, it'll be free.

With much love,

Usagi."

* * *

_December 20__th_

"_This can't be the right place…" Ryo looked down and checked the address he had written down and the store's address number for the third time. During his phone call with Masami, she had asked him to pick her up from work for dinner tonight. Everything was correct. Perhaps he had heard wrongly or written it wrongly or… Nervously, he reached to adjust his tie when out of nowhere, a middle-aged man slumped onto his shoulder._

"_I like this place, the girls are very pretty, very, very pretty." The man slurred his words together in a singsong tune, his breath reeking of alcohol and cigarettes. In disgust, Ryo detached himself from the man, who then continued to stroll down the streets of Shinjuku tipsily._

_The area before him was a club, its name glowing in neon blue and red. "Selene," he read aloud, trying to get a good view of the interior. The loud music of an unidentifiable singer was blasting, and there were barely any lights turned on. Ryo fidgeted as he contemplated the name. Selene – was it the misspelled version of the English word "serene?" He knew that many Japanese still had trouble distinguishing the "r" and "l" sounds and would sometimes use them interchangeably when writing in English. If it did mean serene, it would suggest the club was calm? A place where people could enter and be at ease? Or perhaps it referred to the Greek goddess Selene, who was infamous for her love affairs. Neither reason seemed to comfort him._

"_I'll just enter and ask. Surely it will be a mistake and I'll just call Takano-san later and apologize." Hesitantly, Ryo made his way into the club, covering his ears as the deafening music overwhelmed his sensitive ears._

"_Excuse me?" he asked the host, a handsome young man with his hair stylishly slicked down. _

"_How may I help you, sir?" the host asked, using a very polite method of speaking. Ryo observed the differently colored lights coming from the rooms in the back._

"_Yes, I'm looking for a Takano Masami? Does she work here?" he asked cautiously as his eyes noted all the beautiful women sitting with different types of men – mostly businessmen like himself._

"_Ah, you mean Usagi? How long would you like to book your session – "_

"_Hiro!" Ryo turned his head in the direction of the familiar voice. A woman wearing a low-cut black dress with light makeup came up beside the host named Hiro. She put her hand down on the schedule book and smiled in relief at Ryo's face. _

"_He's my client. Schedule already made." And with that, she grabbed Ryo's hand and led him into one of the many colorfully lit rooms. His eyes had to adjust to the intrusion of sudden bright lights. The music became softer, more soothing. There was a black sofa surrounding a small table. _

"_Please sit," she said shyly, her eyes gazing pleadingly at his. How Ryo missed those sky blue eyes. Ryo took a good rundown of his lady friend's outfit. It only seemed to amplify the woman's sexual appeal. Without thinking, he moistened his dry lips._

"_Erm – "_

"_You must think I'm horrible!" She threw herself into his arms as she began to bawl. Ryo hissed at the thought that she was staining his suit, but held her protectively in his arms._

"_No – " he started, but was once again cut off._

"_You hate me now don't you?" she cried, her tears mixing with the mascara and eyeliner. Ryo's heart broke at the sight of the black streams. Lifting his finger to caress Masami's face, he traced the tear then tenderly wiped it away._

"_Shh, don't cry, you'll ruin your makeup, or what's left of it," he said, giving her a smile. He wasn't angry. He didn't hate her. How could he when she clearly was seeking someone to comfort her? Weakly, she returned his smile and laid her head on his chest. _

"_I'm so sorry, you must think so lowly of me…" She hiccupped, taking a deep breath to calm her sobs._

"_Never," he stroked her head like a father would to a child. "But…where's Yusuke?" _

"_Yusuke?" Masami asked in confusion before suddenly correcting herself. "Yusuke. He's at home, he's sleeping. I… I took this job because of him. I was raped and… " she started to wail once more._

"_I know, I know, I'm sorry about that, shhh, don't worry I'm not here to judge." The memory of a woman's vulnerability was returning to him. Masami was everything Mutsumi wasn't, but how he wanted her to be. So fragile, so in need of someone to care for her._

"_I needed the money, so I got a job here. The pay is good and quick, but these days things have been a little slow," she explained as she removed herself from Ryo's body. His hands for a second, just a brief second, reached out as though missing the contact._

"_Slow?" he questioned, moving closer to Masami, only to have her move even further from him. _

"_Yes, it's probably because I'm not pretty enough. There's a new girl, that stupid Yuki, and she's taking all my customers," Masami whined. Her personality seemed to be so different from how he remembered her at the park. Nonetheless, he felt a strange feeling flowing through his body just being near her – a flame that he had thought long extinguished. _

"_No, you're gorgeous," he complimented her, hoping to bring her spirits up again. He loved her smile. _

"_Thank you. But when no one comes to me, I can't make any money. And Yusuke, he grows weaker and hungrier, did I tell you he was… was born premature? Ohh, Kuga-san!" And dramatically she collapsed against Ryo's shoulder. Her perfume, Anna Sui, was intoxicating. _

"_Perhaps I could help," Ryo said, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket. It was strange for him to help a stranger, but he felt drawn to her. They had been given such troublesome dilemmas from the gods – he with his marital problems with Mutsumi and Masami's desperate need for money to support not only herself but a baby boy. _

"_No, I… I couldn't ask for you to do that," she lifted her head, which was becoming increasingly close to Ryo's. He gulped as he reminded himself that he was a married man, not to mention his promise. _

"_I could just give you the money – "_

"_No! I could never accept that. The only way for you to help me is… if… if you become my client. A regular. Mine and only mine," Her hands, smooth and gentle, cupped Ryo's clean shaven face, her blue eyes hypnotizing him, seducing him. "We… we need each other, we can complete the other. I can help you."_

"_I'm married," he said, trying to uphold his promise. _I love my wife, I love my wife, _he repeated in his head._

"_She doesn't need to know. Please, please, please, you're my last chance. If I don't pay off the next fee for my apartment I'll be evicted!" She needed him, unlike Mutsumi. Masami was beautiful, like Mutsumi, but at the moment more sexually pleasing. Mutsumi didn't need to know… besides he was just helping a friend. Anyone would do the same. Right?_

"_Okay," he replied, watching as a huge smile graced Masami's face._

"_Really?" she said in disbelief, those blue eyes brightening and sparkling with excitement. In her sudden thrill, she jumped into his lap and subtly straddled Ryo's waist. _

"_Really," he affirmed and as soon as he said those words, Masami's painted red lips met with his._

"_Oops," she apologized, her hand touching her mouth innocently in acknowledgement of her mistake. It worried Ryo that when her lips left his, his face moved toward Masami's as though to initiate a kiss. _

"_It's fine, Usagi-chan," he teased, watching the girl on his lap blush an adorable shade of red._

"_It's just a nickname Kuga-san. We all have one here in Selene, part of the job description." She tilted her head, an action Ryo found very endearing. _

"_Ryo, call me Ryo," he said, taking off his jacket. It was starting to become very warm in the room. _

"_Then call me Masami, except in the club, call me Usagi. That way they won't know that we know each other," she whispered into his ear, her fingers tickling his neck. _

"_Ah..." He cleared his throat at the close proximity._

"_Perhaps you should have a nickname here in Selene as well," she said, her lips touching his ear every now and then. Was she purposely trying to seduce him?_

"_Okay," he said, now completely lost in Masami's light touches. _

"_Shinichi," she declared in a husky tone._ Shinichi,_ Ryo pondered_, if written in Kanji… "new one."

* * *

"There we go," Mutsumi wiped once more along the doll's forehead and cheeks. With the dirt eradicated, the gift was once again restored to tip-top condition. Mutsumi had to admire her own handiwork, but then again a doll was different from a real person. No fussing, no moving, sometimes the young mother wished her daughter could be so obedient

"Now, what dress for you to wear," she spoke to the doll, suddenly feeling nostalgic. In front of her lay the many different garments the doll came with. In the end, the young mother was stuck between two choices. There was a gorgeous white dress, its top trimmed with soft white fur. The dress was decorated with elaborate embroidery of snowflakes and sweet flowers, most likely a winter dress. It would be the most fitting for the occasion. However, there was also the dark blue dress. Natsuki might feel more comfortable if she and her doll had matching outfits especially considering the young girl's connection with the mere toy.

"If only you could really speak, but then I fear I might need to take you to a temple," The woman laughed at her own words. As Mutsumi's body shook, she tilted the doll, the red irises moved to the direction of the blue dress.

"Oh?" Her own actions had caused the movement of the toy's eyes, and yet… "The blue one then? It'd be my pleasure."

The previous dress had already been removed so that Mutsumi could stitch the tears later and probably sfenfd it to the dry cleaners. Left in her painted-on underwear, the doll seemed to smile at finally being able to wear clothes. Carefully, the young mother raised the arms of the doll as she would to a baby and slipped the dress over the doll's head. Adjusting the dress in the final step of the process, Mutsumi took the doll into her arms and sat her at the bottom of the stairs.

"You may wait here for your friend, she'll be down soon," The talking to an inanimate object was starting to become rather addicting. It made her feel juvenile and silly, just a small indulgence when no one was watching. "You'll keep this little chat a secret right?" And with a wink, Mutsumi returned to the kitchen to make tonight's dinner.

"I hate wearing dresses!" cried a voice at the top of the stairs. Twisting her head in the direction of the angry voice, Shizuru grinned before suddenly becoming a deer in the headlights. _Natsuki… Natsuki… you're so pretty, no, beautiful, stunning, gorgeous… _

But the only thing the doll could do was mutter a breathless "Ara."

* * *

Author's Note: First off, thanks as always to my amazingly talented beta, Olivia, who catches my errors and always teaches me something new. So, Shizuru doesn't disappear after all; sorry if I worried anyone. Oh Ryo, there's still hope for him... and his marriage... maybe. Next chapter will be the Christmas Eve party one - Takeda makes an appearance as well as some other kids. Thanks for being so patient, hope you enjoyed this chapfter.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that belong to Sunrise. Yup.

Chapter 11

"Say anything and I will seriously hurt you," the cobalt-haired girl warned as she made her way down the staircase. To Natsuki's annoyance, she had to hold onto the railing as she walked down the carpeted steps. The dress was still a bit too long for her and there was no way she was going to make a fool out of herself in front of Shizuru.

When Natsuki finally reached the bottom of the staircase, she gave an involuntary twitch at Shizuru's strange expression. The doll, who was dressed quite elegantly in the matching dark blue dress, was staring – no, gawking – at her with wide eyes. Shizuru's well-formed jaw had gone slack, allowing her adorable cherry lips to part far enough for a bug to mistakenly fly into it. It was as though Natsuki had suddenly transformed into some sort of divine creature or perhaps by the doll's shocked face, a disgusting monster. In fact, Shizuru seemed to have become completely mesmerized by Natsuki's appearance, which left the latter feeling rather uncomfortable and yet amused. This strange dumb gaping expression certainly was not befitting for Natsuki's usually "sophisticated" friend. Oh how Natsuki wanted to laugh, but there was still something bothering her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" the eight-year-old demanded, her voice oozing annoyance. As soon as the words left her mouth, Natsuki felt stupid for asking something she already knew the answer to.Her action resembled a natural reflex, except with words – kind of like those "are you okay" questions that she heard so often on the television. _Wasn't it obvious if the person was hurt or not?_ So why do people still ask that question? _Shizuru always laughs at me when I wear a dress. It's not my fault I look stupid in them! _

The red-eyed girl blinked as though waking from her hypnotic spell. Suddenly, a wide grin broke out across Shizuru's face, revealing two rows of pearly whites. "Natsuki looks positively gorgeous in her dress."

Another twitch. Extending her hand, Natsuki pinched at her doll's soft, pale cheek. "Didn't I tell you not to say anything?" she asked, increasing the pressure of her pinch; it was her new form of torture for her companion.

"Ah, but Natsuki was the one who asked me! You can't blame me for answering can you?" The doll had found a loophole. Scowling at her friend's clever response, Natsuki released her victim. Shizuru was left rubbing at the now reddened flesh.

"I know I look weird, don't remind me," Natsuki said grumpily as she turned her back to Shizuru, who now looked at her friend in confusion. Didn't she just say that the blue-haired girl was gorgeous? Beautiful? So unbelievably lovely that there were no words in the world that could describe how the girl looked?

"Weird? I said you were –"

"La la la, I can't hear you," the younger interrupted as she began to sing aloud obnoxiously. Covering her ears, her "singing" grew louder as Shizuru attempted to complete her sentence. But no matter how hard the doll tried, her owner would just increase her voice with much ease. Finally, unable to handle Natsuki's immaturity to hear the truth, Shizuru pulled down Natsuki's arms with surprising strength and with all her might yelled, "I THINK YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL!"

"Wha?" Baffled jade gems stared into determined ruby ones. An unfamiliar wave of heat flushed the younger girl's face. _Beautiful? Where did that come from?_

"But… why do you always laugh then?" the blue-haired girl asked calmly, which seemed to assure Shizuru that her words finally got through. Slowly, Shizuru removed her hands from Natsuki's wrists and the latter mused at her doll's ability to leave red imprints of her grip.

"I don't laugh, I smile," the older girl responded with a sigh. It was just like Natsuki to misunderstand her intentions. "You rarely ever wear dresses and when you do it makes me…" How exactly did she feel about Natsuki wearing dresses? Shizuru didn't know the finish to that thought. "You look nice in them and… and I think you should wear them more often," the doll concluded, her face beginning to mirror her friend's rosy complexion.

"Oh," Natsuki stated. She was rendered absolutely speechless. The two girls were both embarrassed by their comments and couldn't look each other in the eye properly. Upon taking a closer look, Natsuki noticed that her refined friend also seemed to be blushing. Didn't Shizuru like teasing her? Why was this time any different? It was then that Natsuki was blown away. When did Shizuru suddenly become so... dare she use the word… pretty? Her hair was now dry after the earlier sprinkle of rain, those tan strands appearing softer and lustrous than ever. Shizuru's petite, cherry lips curled into a cute pout which matched perfectly with her naturally pallid skin. But along with that wonderful match was the hauntingly magnificent contrast of Shizuru's pale skin with her crimson eyes. There were times when Natsuki would feel intimidated by those ruby gems; she feared that her friend was looking too deeply into her. But that only occurred a couple of times, and only when Shizuru was really serious about something.

"Natsuki?" Now it was younger girl's turn to be ripped away from her thoughts. Any sign of Shizuru's previous blush had been replaced with a look of concern. _You always worry about me, Shizuru…_

"You look really pretty, Shizuru," Natsuki said as confidently as she could, giving a dashing smile. And the only way she could say it without seeming nervous was to make this into a competition. Shizuru might have won the first round with a surprise attack, but after that confession she had blushed too! So they were tied! Now all she had to do was get Shizuru to turn red and she could prove once and for all who the superior one was.

"Ara, thank you, Natsuki. Did I ever tell you how cute your determined look was?" The older girl smiled warmly at her companion. Had Natsuki said the comment in a more serious tone, Shizuru was sure to have blushed. However, after living with her owner for four months now, the brunette was able to read Natsuki easily. A combination of a smile and smirk like the one Natsuki was wearing right now usually meant that the younger girl was certain she was going to win something. _Natsuki, if you're trying to hide something from me, you shouldn't let your face show what's on your mind. _

"Tch." The tomboy rolled her eyes at Shizuru's teasing. She was a bit let down that her friend had seen through her tactic, but that was to be expected right? _Shizuru is my best friend after all… Great, my best friend is a talking doll… _

"Natsuki!" Only one person in the entire world could ever say her name with such a nagging tone. Groaning, Natsuki lifted her eyes to meet her mother's proud ones. Mutsumi was obviously proud of her handiwork. Despite her daughter's enjoyment of parading around in shorts and loose clothing, when the girl was dressed in proper formal wear, she looked amazing. _Sitting by her doll again, probably engaged in some eight year old conversation. I wonder what the two were talking bout._

"Yes mother?" she answered in mild disdain. Her mother probably wanted to further embellish her appearance.

"Let me fix your hair." The older woman knelt by her daughter so the two could look each in the eye. It was common courtesy to look at a person when speaking to them.

"No, I'm already wearing the stupid dress and my hair is fine as it is!" The girl stubbornly crossed her arms as though to demonstrate her lack of desire to be involved with her mother's primping activities.

Knowing that she'd be unable to persuade her daughter, Mutsumi gave a wearisome, pleading look to Shizuru. The doll was taken back that Natsuki's mother seemed to be asking her for help – did Kuga-san finally believe that she was alive? Still, even if that wasn't the case, Shizuru did enjoy seeing her friend dressed up.

"How about we do it together? It's Christmas; we should be in the holiday spirit! It'll make you even prettier!" the doll said enthusiastically as she laid her head against Natsuki's bare shoulder. The dress had two thin straps that traced over her shoulder blades and collar bone. Because Natsuki was thin, her collar bone protruded noticeably, but Shizuru knew well enough that it could soon disappear as a result of mayonnaise overdose. Overall, the dress was nicely designed, in which the dress dipped into a nice crevice in the middle of Natsuki's upper chest. Had the blue-haired girl been an adult, an ample amount of cleavage would have been offered for all to see. Unfortunately, this was not the case, but that didn't lessen Natsuki's beauty at all. There was also a pale blue sash that circled and Natsuki's waist. The ends of the sash were left dangling messily and the doll was sure that Mutsumi was going to have to redo that as well. Above the sash, the dress was layered into equal sized slits, one over the other. The remaining bottom half was long, decorated with a cute floral pattern, and also inflexible, nothing like those dresses where you can spin and it'd flutter upward. Natsuki would be safe from the hands of a naughty boy.

"Why do you keep siding with my mom?" Natsuki complained quietly so her mother couldn't hear; she could easily refuse her mother's wishes, but when her best friend was also there pressuring her… that made matters much more difficult.

"I thinks it's proper to dress up for a Christmas party, back where I li – " Shizuru cut herself off. Once again she had become careless and almost revealed something she shouldn't have.

"What was that?" As a result of Shizuru's occasional accidental blurts, Natsuki grew more and more curious as to what there was that was so secretive. Ever since Natsuki met Shizuru, she knew the older girl had a strange mysterious aura, but wasn't this expected from a talking doll?

"Let your mom play with your hair and I'll tell you," Shizuru bargained, knowing that Natsuki wouldn't be able to resist such an offer. To tell Natsuki her origins would be risking her connection and everything she had with Natsuki. However, Shizuru was certainly not going to jeopardize that – a witty plan brewed within her mind.

"Really?" Natsuki had taken the bait.

"Really." The older girl smiled at her excited friend. Thinking to herself, she found a way to make Natsuki trust her. Extending her pinky, she turned to the younger girl and said seriously, "I pinky promise."

And that was all Natsuki needed to hear. The two hooked pinkies and grinned happily at each other, both happy with their end of the deal. The only thing Natsuki forgot was that her mother was still in the room with them and currently giving that worried and perplexed look again.

"This is always your fault you know," Natsuki quickly whispered into Shizuru's ear, only to find that her friend had transformed back into her doll form. _Smart Shizuru, this way I won't treat you so much as a living being._ Holding the doll closely against her chest, the younger girl carefully stood up, her left hand gripping the railing.

"Let's get this over with," the tomboy said coolly as she made her way slowly up to her room. All Mutsumi could do was smile. Somewhere in her heart, she wanted to believe that the doll was real, but there was no way that'd be possible, even if it seemed like the doll had helped to convince her hardheaded daughter.

"Thank you, Shizuru," Mutsumi said inaudibly; she couldn't help but play along with all this nonsense.

* * *

"Ow! That hurts!" A hand instantly shot up into the air, waving fiercely as though to swat the source of pain. Instead, she slapped her mother lightly, on the face and blocked the young woman's view of her work.

"Stop moving around and it won't hurt!" she reprimanded as she unraveled the curling iron, producing a very springy curl. With only two hands, Mutsumi wasn't able to properly curl the ends of her Natsuki's hair and keep the girl from moving about.

Not too far from this scene, Shizuru sat contently on Natsuki's bed playing with one of her own curls, her other hand holding the adored dog plush, who just so happened to be wearing a mini Christmas hat for the occasion. The screams from the bathroom seemed completely normal to her; in fact, they were quite reassuring. It was just Natsuki being Natsuki and Natsuki's mother being all motherly – which was much better than the depressed and argumentative Kuga-san she'd heard a couple days earlier.

"There, we're done," her mother puffed, exhausted from having such an uncooperative girl for a daughter. The younger Kuga only glared at her mother before taking a quick glance in the mirror.

_Ew, I look so girly._ The young girl could only frown at her reflection. _I hope Mom doesn't think I like doing these stupid things. Stupid Shizuru, why do I always listen to you? Stupid dress, stupid Mom, stupid holiday spirit. _The list went on…

Hopping off her seat, the jade-eyed girl ran to meet her friend, who was now humming a popular Christmas tune. Mutsumi once again sighed to herself wishing that she had a more feminine daughter who enjoyed these sorts of things. _Maybe I can ask the doll, I mean Shizuru, to make Natsuki more girly… Yeah right… _

The chime of the doorbell sounded cheerfully throughout the house, indicating that one of the guests had arrived. Looking at her watch, Mutsumi found that she was running quite behind schedule. Muttering a curse to herself, she finished restoring the bathroom to its previous condition and quickly went to open the door.

"Hehe, now we match even more," the doll said, tilting her head as she reached out to play with one of Natsuki's long blue curls dotingly. As much as the younger girl would hate to admit, she did at times enjoy Shizuru's flattery and teases about how pretty she looked. It was different from when her mom said it or Takeda did or even her dad. The doll's words, well, made her feel as though she really were pretty.

"Never, I look so much prettier and girlier," the younger girl stated, feigning the voice of the vain but ditsy girls on the television. Shizuru could only giggle as she watched her friend start to make ridiculous faces while flipping the navy coils over her shoulder.

"Natsuki, someone's here to see you," her mother shouted in a way that indicated Natsuki had no choice but to greet their first guest.

"Hmn?" the doll asked, sitting up from her reclined position.

"C'mon, we have to go entertain the guests," the blue-haired girl said, emphasizing the last three words with much disdain. And to further Natsuki's dismay, the person she'd have to "entertain" was none other than…

"Takeda-san…" she did no attempt to hide her annoyance at the first visitor. _Of all people… it had to be Takeda._

"Takeda-san?" Shizuru's voice, on the contrary, was elated. The doll loved watching the boy's attempts to woo her friend, especially since they always seem so pathetic. He was tan, too tan for Natsuki's liking probably. And so thin, surely her tomboyish friend would never go for a guy that was weaker and scrawnier than she was.

"Hey, K-Kuga-san." He waved nervously at the unimpressed blue-haired girl. _Poor boy_, Shizuru thought to herself, _she'd eat him alive_. The boy was wearing a black suit with a red and green tie to symbolize the Christmas spirit. Natsuki scoffed as she noticed that the suit didn't even fit him well. His hair for tonight's celebration was combed neatly to one side. His mother probably did his hair for him as well the attire. It was the only thing Natsuki could sympathize with him.

Turning away from the annoying boy, Natsuki led the other two to the TV room. Sitting on the sofa with Shizuru next to her, she watched as Takeda awkwardly maneuvered his way around the furniture to occupy the seat next to Shizuru. And for a while the three sat together, engulfed by an awkward silence.

"So… Kuga-san, how has winter vacation been?" the boy asked, fiddling with his tie. He snuck a peek at his classmate, who was leaning against her hand looking extremely bored.

"Natsuki, answer him," Shizuru elbowed her friend in the ribs, causing Natsuki to jerk.

"Fine," replied an icy voice. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the television and flipped to a random channel, so at least there was some noise to fill the room. Of course, her parents and the other Takedas were together in the dinning room discussing things, but Natsuki needed an excuse for not being able to hear Takeda.

"Oh, um…" But as soon as Natsuki turned on the television, he felt his comments to be bothersome for his crush. So the boy with the red and green tie shut his mouth and watched the array of colorful lights and a dancing figure in front of him. He wanted Natsuki so badly to like him. Maybe she was playing hard to get. This piece of information alone was able to bring up his spirits. Digging in his pocket, he felt a distinct, rectangular box with a small bow at the top. He grasped it with his hand and pulled it out thinking it would be the perfect time to surprise her.

"Hey, Natsuki, let's go back to your room," the older girl whispered into her companion's ear. She was hoping that the boy would be of more amusement, but all he did was twiddle his thumbs. This boy Takeda would never be the one for Natsuki.

"I want to, but I'm stuck with Stupid," she said, throwing her head slightly in Takeda's direction, her eyes still glued to the cartoon characters.

"Say you have to do something, I'm sure he won't question." The doll smiled knowingly. The boy was too scared of Natsuki to ever go against anything the girl did.

"Kuga-san, I hav – "

"Takeda-san, I need to get something from my room. I'll be back soon." She quickly clutched Shizuru's wrist and together they escaped back to the cobalt-haired girl's room. Disappointed by his crush's sudden leave, he put the present he bought by himself into his right pants pocket. The Christmas tree's alternating light patterns flickering on and off left the poor boy feeling lonelier than ever.

* * *

"Ryo, you're amazing, putting up cutesy decorations like a real man." A tanned man in a dark grey suit lay his large hand against Ryo's shoulder. Prior to the Takedas' early arrival, Ryo had been putting up even more Christmas decorations. Surprised to see the guests, he apologized for his appearance and welcomed his friends wholeheartedly. Kuga Ryo and Takeda Taro were childhood friends who'd kept in touch for the past twenty years. Though not best friends, since Ryo didn't believe in the concept, they were as close as any friends could get. And for this reason, Ryo did not mind the friendly physical contact and taunts Taro often made.

"Taro, it's good to see you." Ryo wiped at the sweat cascading down the side of his face. He opened his arms to embrace his long time companion, but Taro stepped back and wagged his finger.

"You smell worse than some of the guys in Kendo," Taro exaggerated, pinching the bridge of his nose. Of course, there was no way the clean freak Ryo would ever let himself reek to such a level. Ryo grinned at his friend's usual childish comments and in return complimented that Taro looked handsome in his suit.

"I better, this piece of hot stuff cost a pretty penny." The two laughed together, remembering how horrible Taro had been with money in their high school years. Taro wasn't particularly fashionable, but did love spending his money on lavish and, at times, unnecessary items – all the better to blend in with the upper-middle class of Tokyo.

"I should go let you change. You'd better not outdo me in front of the ladies," Taro laughed, brushing imaginary dust off his precious suit. Not extremely handsome, but still completely full of himself.

"Taro-san, I don't think that'd be appropriate in front of your wife," warned a familiar voice. The two men turned to look at Kuga Mutsumi standing in the hallway. She gave a crooked smile before entering the room and bowing to the Takedas. Her hair was tied up with a clip, ends flowing down like a majestic waterfall. She wore Stravinsky earrings, the ones that Ryo had given her oh so many years ago. Her dress was dark red with a slit on the right traveling up to mid-thigh. The dress was gorgeous and reminded Ryo of how beautiful his wife was, or in this case, is.

Stunned by his wife's beauty, Ryo walked toward her and tried to kiss her affectionately on the lips. But, just as his lips descended, she turned her head and his lips fell upon her Mutsumi's cheek. Her eyes met his and she smirked at the desire hidden in those pleading eyes.

"Damn, Mutsumi-san, had I known you could transform into such a beauty, I would've married you!" Taro joked as he went to his wife and snaked his arm protectively around her. He joked often about things like this, but he was devoted forever to his wife. She knew this and this was why she allowed her husband to still flirt with other women. Takeda Yoko was a woman who would rarely ever be jealous.

"Yoko-san, always a pleasure," the head female Kuga smiled politely. The two wives weren't particularly close, but had a mutual respect for each other – good acquaintances you could say.

"Mutsumi-san," Yoko smiled back, "Taro… took the words right out of my mouth. You look amazing."

"Thank you. Ryo, don't you think you should change before the other guests come?" The group looked at Ryo's out of place attire. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and excused himself to the room he shared with Mutsumi, or used to share.

* * *

_Buzz, buzz_ his phone vibrated in his pocket. Reaching in he took out the cellular device and beamed to see it was another text message from his favorite bunny.

"My number one, Shinichi

Merry Christmas and as promised tonight will be free of charge. I'll even pay for drinks for tonight. How does champagne sound, or would you prefer wine? You are coming over tonight, right? I look forward to your arrival. I will be wearing a cute Santa outfit, just for you. I love you so much. You are my _life saver. _

XOXO, Usagi"

Chuckling at his bunny's plea to meet with him, he kissed the screen of his mobile device. _Masami is so perfect! And it's not like I'm cheating on Mutsumi, I'm helping her with a worthy cause! She needs the money and tonight, well it's Christmas! No worries, Ryo, none at all. _His smooth thumb pressed the reply button and eagerly, he texted his response, grinning the whole time like a schoolboy in love.

* * *

"I heard my Masashi has a crush on your Natsuki," Taro started, leaning his strong frame against the kitchen's counters.

"Where did you hear that?" Mutsumi asked, surprised. Natsuki never talked about any boys or crushes!

"Caught the boy up late a couple nights ago, thought he was doing something he wasn't supposed to, but turns how he was writing a love letter!" Taro laughed aloud, his hand slapping the counter.

"Well, Natsuki never talked about boys," the female Kuga stated somewhat sorrowfully. She was reminded of the lack of communication she had with her daughter. How unnatural it must be for a mother to know almost nothing about her daughter. There was one thing she knew though – Shizuru.

"She's probably just shy. She'll warm up to the Takeda charm, I taught the boy some moves. He'll have her in no time," he stated proudly. Yoko looked at Mutsumi apologetically. Sorry for my husband's behavior, she seemed to say. The other woman could only smile and nod her head as though to say, it's alright, my husband can be quite embarrassing at times as well. It was then that the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Please excuse me." In a graceful turn on the heels, a spray of curls flew into the air before neatly falling back into place. She was walking in her slippers; she hadn't expected for it to rain today. This obviously put a damper on her plans, but having the party inside the house was just as fine. As she passed by the television room, she noticed Takeda sitting by himself.

"Masashi-kun, where's Natsuki?" _And of course the doll is gone, Natsuki really takes that thing everywhere._ The doorbell's incessant ringing was growing more frequent, causing Mutsumi to rub at her temples in frustration. Too many things were happening at once. She peered at the boy and saw him point upstairs, meaning that Natsuki was probably up in her room. Did she leave the boy all by himself? Mutsumi wanted to groan.

"Natsuki, come downstairs right now! More people are here!" Mutsumi mouthed an "I'm sorry" to Masashi for her daughter's rudeness.

* * *

"Ugh, we hafta go down again. I'd rather just stay here and spend my Christmas with you, just the two of us," The two girls were apparently watching the same channel as Takeda downstairs. Natsuki was lying on her bed, her head rolling off the end of the bed, allowing her curls to sway freely. Shizuru, on the other hand, was sitting at the edge of the bed, near Natsuki's head, her legs together like a lady.

"We should go then," the older girl said responsibly, knowing all too well the procedures for family parties. "Your mom's going to come and get you anyway."

This was true, and Natsuki scowled at the thought of her mom's pestering voice constantly forcing her to go down. She sat up straight and just as she was going to get off the bed, her mother opened the door rather forcefully, her eyes glowering.

"What do you think you were doing leaving Masashi-kun by himself? Have you no respect for him? The Takedas are our family friends!" Mutsumi chided. The clamor of noise downstairs increase and she heard the many beeps of car keys locking their door. _More guests, ah!_ "I don't have time to deal with this. Go downstairs right now, we'll discuss this later." And as soon she finished what she needed to say, Mutsumi left the room to welcome more of the guests as her husband was still finishing preparing for his appearance.

"Wow," Shizuru said a bit breathless.

"Tell me about it. I have to live with her all the time." The younger girl hopped off her bed and turned to look at her friend, who seemed to be staring off into space. "C'mon" she rushed; she didn't want to get into anymore trouble.

_So that's what Natsuki is going to look like when she's older when dressed up. Natsuki is going to grow up to be very beautiful. _

* * *

As most parties would go, different age groups were separated into their according place. The company workers or family friends would be in the dinning-living room with the host and the hostess. Most of these guests brought their children, who would then be further divided into their own sects. Those considered as "adults," but weren't old enough to be with their working parents came together. They talked about college or their most recent relationship with a loved one. There was the young adult group, which covered a sufficient amount of the kids. Seldom did they really talk to others for each was absorbed in their own thoughts – their teenage minds forcing them to think of all the causes of their suffering. There weren't too many really young kids or babies, since most of the couples long had their children. Most of the adults here were considerably older than Ryo, but that was to be expected since this was more of a company get-together.

There were about six people in Natsuki's age group, seven if Shizuru was counted in. Each adorned in their respective colorful garments that their parents forced them into. Only two girls seemed to have actually enjoyed their formal attire.

"That's a really cute doll," the chubby girl with the pigtails from her birthday greeted. Was she really not fazed by her last attempt to start a conversation with Natsuki? In the plump girl's arms, which were pudgy and not at all fit for climbing trees, was a foreign looking doll. Like Shizuru, the hair was tan, but even a paler version. The doll's eyes were black, which gave the doll an eerie feel of sucking you in. Walking over, the chubby girl went to touch Shizuru's face. Natsuki had forgotten Shizuru was still one of those creepy, life-sized dolls to the eyes of others.

"Don't touch her!" Natsuki shouted after seeing Shizuru's uncomfortable expression. How dare that girl just randomly go up to her and touch her beloved friend's face? Would she like that if she did that to her? Shizuru, however, reassured the hotheaded blue-haired girl that she was fine; it wasn't that big of a deal, just a bit weird.

"Kuga Natsuki, long time no see," declared a pompous voice. Natsuki couldn't distinguish the voice or remember the girl's name, but then again she usually never cared to do such a thing in the first place.

"It's Minato Satomi, don't tell me you've forgotten? I know I missed your birthday party, but I've been to your family's Christmas party every year," the girl named Satomi stressed the last part as though to demonstrate her importance to these revelries. "And I must say, you've really outdone yourself this time. Finally becoming a girl?"

"Minato-chan," the pudgy girl said, happily hugging the newcomer briefly before returning to the side of a grey-haired boy wearing black-framed glasses. _Oh Minato-san,_ Natsuki remembered as she eyed Satomi's gold sequined dress. _How could I forget the most obnoxious daughter of the most obnoxious mom in the history of the world?_

"Ah, Senou Aoi, I see you've lost some weight since our last encounter. And how maybe times have I told you, you can call me Satomi. Just don't forget to add the –chan," Satomi winked at the girl now identified as Senou Aoi. At least someone was able to remember everyone's names. "Still hanging out with, is that you, Harada Chie? I barely recognized you with that new haircut. Mom was right, you need to learn to stop fidgeting when people cut your hair!"

_Girl? She looks so much like a boy!_ _Wait, Harada Chie? She used to have such long hair, I guess she had a bad time at the barber's. _

"How do you know her, Natsuki?" Shizuru spoke softly into Natsuki's ear, her arched eyebrow rising further at the noisy girl's endless comments.

"Daughter of Minato Naomi, one of the secretaries at my dad's workplace. Her mom is just as bad. They know all the gossip of the people around them and they're big mouths. Really, really annoying. This family, especially the mom, she's so dramatic, especially about her divorce," Natsuki sighed at the memory of a woman who wore bright red lipstick, who kissed her cheek and criticized her for unladylike behavior.

"Takeda Masashi! Still harboring a crush for, ahem, you know who I'm talking about, right? Because if you don't, she's standing right there!" Satomi pointed a finger polished with vivid red in Natsuki's direction. Suddenly self-conscious in front of his crush, Takeda lowered his head, hoping that those emerald gems weren't looking at him.

"And last but not least, Machida Vincent, the half-Japanese half-American boy!" Satomi wrung her arm around the nonchalant boy's neck. Vincent was the oldest of the group and because of his mixed blood felt that he never could belong with the pure Japanese kids. He was quiet, making others believe that he was a loner like Natsuki, but this was not the case. He lived most of the time in America and only came back during school vacations to visit his grandparents and father. The Machidas weren't divorced but were merely separated due to their jobs. Vincent never spoke because he feared his incorrect pronunciation of the Japanese language. The only time he got to practice his Japanese was when he was with his father, which was only a few times in a year. Still, he was one of the few people that Natsuki thought was okay.

"You know I've been to America too, and France and England and… say Natsuki what are we going to do. I'm bored! Let's play something," Satomi pouted, jutting out a glossy lower lip.

"Oh I know let's play house!" Aoi suggested giddily as she held the doll close to her chest as though it were her child.

"Good idea Aoi-chan, we can help Masashi-kun," the gossip-loving girl said not-so-quietly to the chubby girl. "Except, house is so boring, it's for little kids! We need to make this more interesting. How bout "who can make their marriage can last" game?"

"What's that?" Aoi had never heard that name before, but neither had any of the other kids.

"Easy, we're paired up as husbands and wives and see which group can last the longest," Satomi grabbed Aoi's doll and Shizuru so that the two toys were now in her arms. "These will be the babies. See one couple won't be able to have a baby, which becomes a problem because people only get married to have babies!"

"Shi…" But Shizuru held a finger to her lips signifying for Natsuki to be quiet. She mouthed her alias to her companion as a reminder not to use her real name with people she didn't know.

"Can I have Shizuka back?" Natsuki said, trying her best to restrain herself from attacking the girl and saving Shizuru from the likes of Minato.

"Already named your baby? That excited to be a mom? Well, you'll need a husband first! Masashi-kun, you're with Natsuki-chan. And… Aoi-chan, you're with Chie-chan. And I guess that leaves me with the handsome, mixed Vincent-kun," Satomi strolled over to loop her arm through Vincent's.

"Don't want to play," Vincent said in broken but comprehendible Japanese. Removing himself from Satomi, he took out his mp3 player and went to the sofa to drown himself in his music.

"Fine! Be that way, darling! I'll just be the single mom, who messily breaks up with her husband, but is secretly glad because now she gets to date younger and BETTER men," she shouted, hoping to stir Vincent's interest to play the game again. Alas, Vincent was smart and managed to escape. Now, he was transported into a world of music, something universal to all.

"I don't want to play either, can I have Shizuka back," Natsuki demanded, her hand outstretched waiting for Satomi to release her cherry blossom scented arms from Shizuru's waist.

"You can have Shizuka back after you give birth to her!" Satomi stuck out her tongue at Natsuki, who in turn wanted to rip the muscle out of Satomi's throat.

"Ara, I'm Natsuki's child," Shizuru mused as she grinned in what Natsuki deemed to be very irritating. Now perhaps Shizuru would get to see Natsuki's "suitor" in action.

"Shut up," the blue-haired girl mouthed while the doll's grin only widened.

"Okay, so hold hands, I'm going to pronounce you husband and wife!" Satomi said setting her hostages in a secure place where she could easily reach.

"Um…," and shyly, Aoi reached out to take Chie's into hers, the boyish girl giving a reassuring squeeze as their fingers intertwined.

"Honey?" Takeda tried, which caused Shizuru to lightly chuckle.

"No," Natsuki said stubbornly as she crossed her arms, preventing Takeda from even trying to take the hand into his.

"Don't be such a party pooper Natsuki-chan! It's just Masashi-kun, not some pervert!" Still, Natsuki remained rigid in her position, her glacial glare turning colder by the second.

"Ugh, soooooo unhelpful. You're married. You're married. Now you're married! Time to try and make a baby!" Satomi pretended to sprinkle imaginary dust between the two couples.

"I didn't know two girls could get married. I've never seen two mommies before," Aoi pondered aloud triggering a very exasperated sigh to emit from Satomi.

"Of course they can! Whenever I watch TV with my mom she always says that she should've been a lesbian, so then she wouldn't have ever needed to meet my father. That's what they're called you know. And for guys, I think my mom calls them gays. So lesbians and gays, there you have it," Satomi informed the group of children as though she were an all knowing god. Aoi, on the other hand, was fascinated by the new information. Chie didn't say anything though, she rarely does. Aoi once said that Chie was really talkative, but Natsuki found that hard to believe.

"You're so smart, Satomi-chan!" Aoi complimented, giving Satomi more reason to feel like the supreme ruler of the universe. Natsuki sneered at that though – she could take on Satomi anytime.

"So how do we make a baby?" This time it was Takeda who asked, but it was actually something everyone wanted to ask. Since everyone was around the age of eight or nine, no one was really sure how babies were created. The stork idea or finding a baby in bamboo or peaches was long extinguished as incorrect.

"I'm really surrounded by kids, aren't I?" Satomi touched her pointer finger against her temple as though in great annoyance of being surrounded by naivety. "You have to kiss, but it can't be a normal kiss. It has to be a really passionate one! I remember watching with Mommy that after kissing there's a lot of moaning and finally a scream. Then a couple days later the woman will have a big tummy!"

"Are you sure that's how babies are made?" Chie questioned; she wasn't as knowledgeable at these things as Satomi, but for some reason the information seemed wrong. Shizuru raised an eyebrow at Satomi's fictional story of how babies are created – she knew better.

"Of course! Oh, Aoi-chan, Chie-san, I'm sorry, but two girls can't have a baby. I don't know why, but that's just how it is. So what will you do now? How are you going to continue your marriage?" Satomi turned to the two girls with a devious grin.

"Well, ah, I'm sorry I can't give you a baby, Chie-chan," the pudgy girl honestly said to her "wife."

"Don't worry about it," and suddenly the boyish girl embraced the shorter, chubbier girl, "we can adopt."

"Really – "

"Great idea, Chie-chan! I knew those glasses meant you were smart," Satomi snapped her fingers and then continued to congratulate the two for their wise decision. Suddenly, she grabbed Aoi's doll and threw it in their direction – Aoi caught it and cradled the baby in her arms.

"Natsuki-chan? Masashi-kun?" Satomi now turned to the couple that stood a good three feet apart.

"W-would you like to make a baby with me, N-N-Natsuki-chan," Takeda stuttered out. His face flushed from calling the blue-haired girl such a familiar name.

"Goo, goo, Natsuki, I mean mommy," Shizuru couldn't help herself from taunting; this was priceless. The doll loved the scene before her – an angry, twitching Natsuki and a scared, shaking Takeda. Her "mom" looked like she was going to explode. What a great family she had!

N-Natsuki-chan?" Takeda attempted once more to get the attention of his wife.

"Shut up!" Natsuki yelled in the doll's direction causing the other kids to look at her with alert eyes. And just when Satomi was going to say something, Natsuki shot a glare at her with such contempt that it shut the talkative girl up.

"Minato-san, I don't want to play this game anymore. Gimme my Shizuka back right now." Her jade eyes pierced through Satomi's mundane, chocolate ones.

"No, you have to make your baby with Takeda first!" the girl in the gold sequined dress argued. Knowing that Shizuru would never approve of any violent outburst, Natsuki ignored Satomi's words and walked to where her doll was held prisoner. She gave a smirk to the doll and offered her hand to the sitting girl.

"Does that mean I'm not your baby?" the older girl asked jokingly as she grabbed Natsuki's hand and was pulled up, her height surpassing Natsuki's.

"Afraid not, let's go," and while still holding her doll's hand as gentleman would when escorting a lady they walked away from the other kids.

"Where are you going? We're not done with this yet! Are you leaving Masashi-kun? Fine! I'll marry him! We'll have lots of kids and …." The voice of Minato Satomi soon became softer and softer as Natsuki and Shizuru walked into the living room where all the adults were. Natsuki did feel a bit bad for leaving Takeda though. And back in that room, Takeda released his grip on the present in his pocket. Another perfect moment to give the present to his girl lost.

* * *

"You sure they won't catch us out here?" Shizuru asked, her hand still tightly grasping Natsuki's. It was her only source of warmth, since her delicate dress was not made to be worn in the rain. Droplets fell furiously from the darkened sky, causing anyone to be outside without protection to be immediately drenched. It wasn't until they reached their favorite tree that Natsuki released Shizuru's hand and began climbing. The task proved to much more difficult with the combined obstacle of the rain and the restraining dress.

"They won't even notice we're gone, they're too busy talking to each other." The younger girl grunted as she failed to get a good grip on the tree. It was useless, and unless she tore the dress or took it off, it was unlikely that the blue-haired girl was going to scale the tree. Grunting in irritation, she pounded her fist against the bark of the tree.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, ne?" Shizuru smiled gently as she cupped Natsuki's fist between her own. Even if they wanted to return to the warmth and safety of Natsuki's room, the girls would've attracted too much attention with a trail of muddy footprints.

"You said you were going to tell me something, time to fulfill your part of the bargain," the cobalt-haired girl had wondered for so long why her doll would always cut herself off. Now she was finally going to get some answers and satisfy her mounting curiosity. The curls her mother had worked so hard on were now ruined by a shower of rainwater.

"Eh? Already? I… "

"SHIZURU! You promised! Pinky promised!" Natsuki reminded as she brought up her pinky. _Don't forget Shizuru, if you break a pinky promise, you'll have to give me your pinky!_

"Okay, okay. I said 'back where I li – '," Shizuru paused as she looked at Natsuki's eager face for her to continue that sentence. "That's it."

"And then? Back where I li – ? What's that supposed to mean? You pro – "

"I promised to tell you what I said. And that's what I said. I fulfilled my end of the promise Natsuki," the older girl's voice was abnormally harsh. Diverting her eyes to the festive noises from inside the Kuga household, Shizuru inwardly hoped that her friend wasn't going to take this cheat in their promise badly.

"…." Natsuki was speechless with disappointment, so she had been tricked by her best friend once again. The tea incident, however, didn't leave her feeling as devoid; that time was a harmless joke. Now, she was beginning to doubt her trust with Shizuru. The corners of her frail mouth fell, those emerald eyes losing their shine. How could she have been so foolish? Twisting her hand out of her friend's hold, Natsuki began her walk back to her house. _I'm so stupid…_

"Natsuki, wait! Please," Shizuru begged as she lightly wrapped her hand around Natsuki's wrist. Roughly, the younger girl ripped her hand away and continued making her way to her home, her room, her bed. She hadn't felt like this in a while – she wanted to cry. _Stupid Shizuru… Stupid! Stupid! I hate you!_

"Natsuki!" Shizuru called out desperately. Her mind was urging her to move, to chase her best friend and apologize over and over until the younger girl believed her. Shizuru's body, however, shaken with rain's cold, refused to budge from its spot. "NATSUKI! I'M SORRY! I WANT TO TELL YOU, BUT I CAN'T!"

That stopped the tomboy. Turning her head in Shizuru's way, Natsuki noticed that the girl had fallen to her knees, her thin arms wrapping around her own body lessening the surface area, thus warming her body easier. Nothing like a lady; Shizuru looked pathetic.

"WHY?" Natsuki screamed back. Shizuru's eyes widened at the sight before her. Despite the rain, she could tell with ease that tears were flowing down those beautiful, but hurt green eyes. "You're my best friend, Shizuru, you… you know you can tell me anything, and nothing would have mattered!"

At last, feeling her legs regaining their ability to move, Shizuru weakly stumbled toward her friend's spot. "I'll disappear… I want to stay with you forever." There was a salty taste in her mouth. Was she crying too? Her words were a half-truth. The rules to this game were sometimes just too cruel. If she were to reveal any source of her origins, she'd disappear not only from Natsuki's life, but also from the younger girl's memory. Everything they shared would be completely erased.

"Stupid! Stupid Shizuru!" Natsuki said, smiling. She knew how ridiculous they must look – two girls bawling on Christmas Eve. In a flash, the younger girl's arms wrapped around her friend for comfort and to create more warmth. "You should have told me!"

"I _did_!" Shizuru laughed as she recalled telling the tomboy when they first met.

* * *

"Your present is in my room, by the way," Natsuki and Shizuru were sitting beneath the tree since its foliage provided some sort of protection against the sky's tears.

"I know, I saw it in the closet." Shizuru giggled at the memory. One day when Natsuki wasn't in her room, Shizuru had wanted to hide in the closet and scare her companion. To her surprise, she found a large box wrapped in colorful paper and labeled with her name. Feeling terrible for discovering her owner's present to her, the older girl decided not to scare her friend – for that day, it would be compensation.

"What? How'd you… are you sure you don't have super powers or did you just go into my closet?" Her teeth were beginning to chatter from the cold temperature; perhaps it would be good to go inside soon. She didn't want to get sick and remain in bed for the rest of winter vacation.

"Maybe." The two girls smiled at each other. _Her parents really don't know we're outside? _She looked at her owner, teeth chattering, and body trembling. Even in this state, she found her friend very pretty. _Natsuki must be really cold, we should go in… or…. I have one more trick to pull_.

"Natsuki, do you know that is?" Following where Shizuru's index finger was pointing at, Natsuki's eyes squinted at some unidentifiable object.

"No?" Was there anything even there besides branches and leaves?

"It's mistletoe. Have you heard the story about mistletoe?" The older girl smiled inwardly at the evil idea forming in her head.

"No? What's that?" Natsuki asked curiously, sitting upright to emphasize her attentive state.

"Before Christmas, Santa puts these mistletoes on certain trees all over the world. They're filled with magic and you could say it's how Santa tells if you're naughty or nice. And when two people are underneath it, they have to kiss in the spirit of Christmas," Shizuru lied; she had no idea how these little fibs came to her with such ease. Maybe Natsuki wasn't the one with the playful imagination after all.

"What? How do you know this?" The younger girl did her best to not seem nervous by the comment. She was still a bit dubious because of Shizuru's previous ruses.

"I'm a talking doll, am I not?" There was no way Natsuki couldn't not believer her now. "If you don't kiss, Santa will put you on the naughty list, and no more presents for Natsuki."

This proved to be a difficult situation for the blue-haired tomboy. She had never kissed anyone else other than her family and even then she still didn't like to do it. Kissing was… yucky, but with Shizuru, it couldn't be that bad right? Better than having to kiss Takeda. Satomi said that only boys and girls could get pregnant from kissing right? So she would be safe from that too, she didn't want to have a baby just yet. And as she turned in her friend's direction, she felt something soft and moist pressing against her own lips. _Shizuru?_

In an instant, Natsuki's face became completely red as it flushed with heat. Shizuru chuckled at her friend's adorable reaction; at least the younger girl had stopped shivering. _Mission accomplished! _Touching her own lips, she briefly tasted the sweet and salty flavor on Natsuki's lips, knowing that her own cherry lips tasted the same. It would be a small memento of today to cherish forever, for both had taken the other's first kiss.

"I'm not going to get cooties, right?" The older girl could only throw her head back and emit a glorious laugh.

Author's Note: Once again... I apologize for the slow update, I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME!! As always, I thank my patient and uber kind beta, Olivia, who saves my fanfiction from being a complete disaster. Next chapter will have a bit more Xmas stuff, so that the Christmas portion of my story will seem more complete, and hopefully, if all goes according to plan, Valentine's Day stuff. Thanks to all those who have read my story, we're almost half way done with the whole thing! Muahaha


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I still don't own the characters that belong to Sunrise. I also don't own the lyrics to Amuro Namie and Double's "Black Diamond."

"When you meet a guy who's fly  
always call him black diamond  
it's hard to find the one  
but girls try to search for him  
we're gonna fight for it  
but I know who will win"

"Amazing," Masami said, an elegant eyebrow rose as she stared intently at her own reflection. With a flawlessly done French manicured nail, she lightly stroked her own bottom lip, marveling at the current fullness of her lips. She had never been one to doubt her attractiveness, but the thinness of her lips had always been a feature that she found rather lacking. Thus, it was to her fortune that a girl at Selene faced the same problem and had the most brilliant solution to fix the problem. To have surgery to insert collagen could have been an option, but Masami firmly objected to having surgical assistance in modifying the human body for aesthetic purposes, especially when there were marvelous products like Lip Venom, which were cheaper and just as efficient. After all, blessed with an already attractive face and body, why would she need cosmetic surgery? However, if there was any drawback to the product, it was the various scents of the spices used to increase blood flow to engorge the lips – nothing that a seductively scented lip gloss and perfume couldn't cover though. And after two hours of perfecting her appearance, Masami was finally ready to consummate this perfect day. All that was missing was her beloved Shinichi.

As she walked back to her living room, the sensual yet melodic music of Amuro Namie provided the perfect atmosphere for exactly what she planned for the evening. In spite of their accumulating assignations, Ryo was still hesitant in initiating any sexual advances. Still, with much patience and determination, Masami was able to slowly lure out Ryo's inner lust, and by the third meeting he was already touching her in ways that drove her absolutely wild. Of course, they still hadn't reached the level of desire she craved. The two secret lovers hadn't even seen each other completely naked yet. There was one instance, where Masami had been topless, but an unfortunate call from Ryo's nagging, pathetic wife interfered just before the real fun began. This time, however, Masami was determined for tonight to be the day Ryo finally belonged to her and her only. And to ensure he wouldn't be able to resist her, she had purchased a _very _expensive, holiday-themed lingerie set.

It had been nearly an hour since Ryo's last message and surprisingly he had yet to show up. Sitting rather lonesome on her couch, Masami listened in annoyance as the final song on her CD faded into silence. Her stereo whirred as an indication that the CD had finished playing all the songs, and angrily she glared at the forty-three minutes and thirty-nine seconds that flashed on the screen. Clenching her fists, she pushed herself from the couch and went to replay the entire CD for the fourth time.

Four songs into the CD, the doorbell finally rang, and eagerly Masami went to open the door. Her previous contempt towards Ryo was pushed aside, though she made a note to herself to punish him later.

"Ryo, it's about – " She cut herself off when a beautiful bouquet of flowers was thrust against her chest. Curiously, she took the bouquet into her own hands and moved it away so that it wouldn't obstruct her lover's face. When she did though, she was disappointed to find that the man behind curtain number one was not her Ryo. It was a delivery boy – a high school, still acne-covered, no-life… she couldn't go on. There were no words to describe the amount of disgust she felt seeing the adolescent in the place of her Ryo. Thus, with her anger redirected at the nonchalant boy, who by the way was not at all checking her out when she was clearly wearing something very sexy, she slammed the door in his face.

In her repulsion, she tore off the small card tied around the stems of the bouquet. What possible excuse could Ryo have for missing out on their exclusive day together?

"My dearest, favorite little bunny~

I'm sorry that I can't be there with you at the moment. I have no time to squeeze out of my family's Christmas party, but know that I wish so much that I could be there with you. We will reserve our special night for another time then. I hope you forgive me.

With my undying love,

Shinichi

And it was at that moment that something bundled up inside of Masami cracked. Grabbing the bouquet of flowers she left on the table, she proceeded to lift it high into the air and then, using all strength, brought it down against the kitchen table. She continued to do this multiple times, watching as the stalks bent and snapped as they smashed over and over into the wooden surface. The red petals from each of the twelve roses were so heavily tousled from the erratic movement that they fell in a mesmerizing fashion onto the floor and table.

Masami hated time, for it was one of the things that Ryo seemed to care more about than her. When they were together at Selene, he always had to cut off their engagements early because he had to return to home on time. He was always watching the time and was much more preoccupied with always knowing about the time rather than with indulging in pleasure with her. But perhaps the reason why she hated it the most was because they never seemed to have enough of it. Every time Masami thought they were going to progress to a level to solidify their relationship, Ryo would suddenly realize that he was short on time and would have to save it for another night. Was not this night exactly what they had planned for so long? Did he not promise to find a way to sneak out so they could spend the rest of the night together? It would almost seem that time had triumphed, but Masami wasn't going to let that happen.

Opening the door again, she was slightly surprised to have found the same dull adolescent staring at her as though he was expecting something.

"It's a holiday, give me my tip," he said with his hand held out, "I was knocking for five minutes, did you not hear me?"

"No." She decided to play coy. Leaning against the frame of the door, she stretched to show off more of her body. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, I'm waiting," he said impatiently. Masami scoffed at this because any person who had to be working near holiday season surely didn't have anything else better to do. She looked at him once more before finally deciding to go through with her plan to lure Ryo to her.

"How old are you?" She didn't want to be doing anything too illegal.

"I'm twenty-two," the boy said, suddenly curious why an older woman dressed in lingerie was questioning him about these things. Masami was a bit taken back by the boy's age, she could have sworn he was at most eighteen. Smiling even more, she tilted her head and said in a sultry voice, "Well why don't you come inside and I'll make sure to pay you very, _very_ well."

* * *

"I can't believe you, Natsuki. I don't look after you for one minute and you go off outside where it's raining," Mutsumi reprimanded while wrapping a shivering Natsuki in a towel.

"Look at yourself! And you've ruined your dress too." The elder women cradled her head in a hand as she sighed at the current situation. It was stressful enough to have to maintain a good holiday party by making sure everyone was having a good time, and then Natsuki had to go run outside while it was raining. Why couldn't Natsuki just have behaved and played with the other children?

"B-but –"

"Hey, hey, Mutsumi, this isn't all Natsuki's fault. I mean, it was kind of our fault for not really looking after her," Ryo reasoned as he gave an apologetic smile to his daughter. He had just come out from Natsuki's bathroom, where he had prepared a delightful hot bath for his favorite girl. He knew how big of a hassle his wife had gone through in preparing her perfect Christmas party, but he didn't want Mutsumi antagonizing Natsuki on a holiday that was supposed to be filled with merriment.

"Ryo, she's eight years old. Do you expect us to always have to look after her? She would at least know by now that running off in the rain without telling anyone is not good behavior. Look at her, she's shivering." Mutsumi let out another exasperated sigh. "She's probably going to get sick now."

"She's just a kid, and you know how much she loves the outdoors," Ryo defended, remembering that in his earlier years he would occasionally also disobey his parents to play in the rain. The rain was relaxing, a reasonable environment that anyone would escape to when suffocating from the stresses indoors.

"Well maybe it's time she learns some responsibility for herself and to use proper judgment when deciding when certain actions are appropriate and when they're not," Mutsumi stated definitely, indicating that the argument was no longer open to further discussion. Going to Natsuki's closet, she pulled out some pajamas, figuring that it would be a waste to have to dress her daughter up again. The party was nearly over anyway, so it was a good time for Natsuki to get cleaned up and go to sleep. "Natsuki, go take a bath, your father and I will be downstairs with the guests, and please don't get into anymore trouble?"

"W-wait!" the blue haired girl stuttered out. She pulled the towel closer to her to warm her freezing body. "I-I w-want my d-doll."

"Your father will bring it up later." Natsuki's mother marveled at just how attached her daughter was to that doll. However, the doll was as drenched in the rain as Natsuki and there was no way she was going to allow Natsuki to drag that thing up and leave a trail of water. "She's still wet and will need to be cleaned up before you play with her again."

"N-no! W-where is – "

"Go take a bath now, Natsuki. C'mon Ryo, we still have guests to attend to." And with that, the busy woman went downstairs, leaving father alone with daughter.

"I-I w-want – "

"Don't worry Natsuki, we have your doll downstairs. And like your mother said, she needs to dry her off before returning her to you," he said, squatting to his daughter's height. He hated to speak to his daughter while towering over her because it gave the impression of superiority. By talking eye to eye, he made sure that Natsuki felt that she was his equal and that she deserved just as much of his respect and attention as anyone else. It was something that Natsuki was always grateful for, and something her mother rarely did. Leaning forward, he placed an affectionate kiss on her forehead before politely asking her to "just listen to her mother" and dismissing himself so that Natsuki could attend to her bath.

_Shizuru, I hope you're _okay, the blue-haired girl thought to herself. Though angry at being lectured by her mother for something as simple as going outside without supervision, Natsuki had to admit that a hot bath really seemed nice right now. She only wished that Shizuru could have the same treatment.

* * *

Downstairs amidst all the socializing was a lonely doll lying near the foot of the door leading to the backyard. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the doll's facial appearance was very realistic and the sparkling red eyes hauntingly attractive. However, as any object caught in the rain, the doll was soaked, causing her beautiful light brown hair bangs to stick uncomfortably against her forehead. There were still droplets adhered to the pallid skin, which could easily be mended with a soft towel. The dress, on the other hand, was ruined and was going to have to be removed and dried before it could be worn again. And because the object on the floor was a mere doll, no one really cared that it was wet with the exception of Natsuki. And no one but the special eight-year-old girl with the cobalt hair would know that in reality Shizuru was shivering from the cold as well.

"Hey, isn't that Kuga's doll?" It was the perky voice of Satomi, who had her arm forcefully hooked with Vincent's. Curious that the always scowling girl left her doll by herself, Chie, Aoi, and Takeda trotted to where the poor doll was laying.

"She looks dead," Aoi absently declared. And who could blame her; there was a scary realism to the doll.

"She's a doll, stupid," Satomi said, picking Shizuru up with her free arm to carefully analyze the doll's features. Satomi had to admit that it was a fairly well-constructed doll. If she had this for herself, she would've definitely treasured it, but the question was why would a girl like Natsuki play with such a pretty doll?

"I don't think we should touch it," Takeda warned, knowing how attached his crush was to the doll. If Natsuki had seen them playing with or even touching her precious doll, it would be the end of them. And as though to emphasize the previous statement, there was a strange twinkle to the porcelain figure's scarlet eyes.

"Why not? Natsuki left her here all alone and – "

"No, we're not gonna play with Natsuki's stuff without her here," Takeda ordered, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes glaring at Satomi. Taking up the challenge, Satomi let go of Vincent and grabbed the doll back into her arms, not caring that she was getting herself wet.

"I don't see why you're defending Natsuki, she doesn't even like you!" she spat at him. And as brutally obvious as the fact was, no one had ever said those words to him, not even Natsuki. Immediately a strange sense of anger and sadness filled his chest, and for some reason the intent of protecting the doll had diminished. Why was he protecting a girl who didn't even like him back? He was unsure, but for some reason it felt right, beyond the fact that it was Natsuki's. He wouldn't have wanted anyone to play with his stuff if he left it there, and he was sure Natsuki would feel the same way.

"Because, _stupid_," he said, stressing the insult as to also make up for Satomi's earlier comment toward Aoi, "it's her doll and not yours. If it was yours I wouldn't care at all what you did with it."

Just when Satomi was going to retaliate, the two older Kugas came downstairs. Mutsumi, who appeared a bit agitated by the children's arguing, came to them and at the sight of the doll was reminded that Natsuki couldn't stand being apart from it. Thinking that Satomi was helping Natsuki get the doll back, Mutsumi gratefully thanked the girl for her desire to help her daughter, and then proceeded to tell Ryo to retrieve it so that he could clean it up as soon as possible to return to their daughter.

"And that, my friends, would be irony," Chie snickered with Aoi as the two girls laughed at a flabbergasted Satomi. Takeda could only sigh in relief, but Satomi's words still bothered him. He reached into the pocket of his pants and brought out the small wrapped present he had for Natsuki. Figuring that he wouldn't be able to give it to her in person, he left it on the living room table. Perhaps it would be better if he didn't give it to her in person and spared himself the humiliation of Natsuki's rejection.

With Mutsumi now back in the social atmosphere with the adults, Ryo had parted off to the laundry room where he could properly dry off the doll. In Natsuki's father's arms, Shizuru could almost see why her companion would be ensnared in a false sense of protection. Ryo's arms were strong and warm and had just saved her in the nick of time from being Minato Satomi's baby, which in her mind would have been a horrible torture. At the same time, Shizuru also grew a new-found respect for Takeda. If she could, she would have spoken and defended herself, but she knew the rules. And in spite of her hate for Ryo, Shizuru knew at the moment that she would be safe. Thus, she allowed herself to succumb to the darkness until later reunited with Natsuki.

The silence in the laundry room was strangely comforting to Ryo. There was no one he had to talk to, no nagging from his wife, and most of all he was able to do something without Mutsumi watching his every move. Setting Shizuru on top of the dryer, he grabbed a nearby towel and dabbed carefully at the moisture. He shivered while performing this action, but it wasn't because of the cold. There was something different about the doll and he could sense it. It was almost as though the doll, like Mutsumi, was judging his every move, watching him. As he did this, he wondered if Masami got his bouquet of flowers. He had wanted oh so desperately to leave by using the "I'm going to get the Christmas cake for my father" excuse, but to his misfortune, Mutsumi knew better.

* * *

_He had just finished texting Masami back when Mutsumi decided to enter the room to check on him. Startled by her entrance, he quickly shoved his phone into his pocket. _

"_Ryo, everyone's waiting for you." He still couldn't help but admire her elegant beauty._

"_I need to go pick up that fruit cake for my father," Ryo recited. Earlier today, he had purposely ordered a fruit cake at their town's most famous bakery as a later excuse to leave the household. His plan was so simple. He'd tell Mutsumi that he was getting it for his father, and of course, Mutsumi being the dutiful daughter-in-law would accept. He would then leave the house and go pick up the fruit cake so that the store wouldn't call him, and then deliver it to Masami's house. Then they could have their brief moment together and if the night happened to last a bit longer there, he would tell Mutsumi that his father insisted him on staying. It was the perfect plan and that way no one would get hurt._

"_But I thought you told me your father went to Hiroshima last weekend," the older female Kuga answered with a knowing smirk. She had always worked hard on these parties and she wasn't going to be embarrassed by having her husband leave during such an event to go out with another woman. In fact, she had somewhat tolerated his previous sneaking out because it had only been in their immediate family, but not today, not when there were twenty to thirty guests out there. She would not allow their family to be the Minato gossip of the week._

"_He did, but he's back now and you know how much he loves his cake. Mutsumi, he's a lonely old man and I'm his only son." He had completely forgotten that he told his wife that his father would be in Hiroshima for the holidays. Thus it was to Ryo's misfortune that he also forgot when his father would be returning, but that didn't matter at the moment. Masami needed him, he couldn't let her down. Ryo hoped Mutsumi wouldn't see through his lie._

"_He's home? Well, why don't we call him and invite him over?" There was a stricken look of panic on Ryo's face. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. Closing the door to block the commotion from downstairs, Mutsumi then cautiously approached her husband and solemnly gazed into his eyes." Ryo, I know what you're up to and there is no way you're going to get away with it, especially not today. Don't you remember your promise to me? Or was it just more empty lies that I keep idiotically falling for?" _

"_I…" He looked away in shame like a child who just got caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. Once again the feeling of being an inferior child overwhelmed him, and just when he was going to retaliate, he looked up and saw the apprehension and hurt revealed in his wife's eyes. She was in pain at the expense of his selfish needs. And even though Masami may want to be with him, his obligations still ultimately lay with his family. They could save their special night for another, he had something more important to intend to. Suddenly proud of his own epiphany, he reached over to hold Mutsumi's hand. Mutsumi, who temporarily allowed the comforting motion, saw too the realization in the man in front of her. "I do, trust me." _There will be time later, I'm sorry Masami. _Rapid knocking jolted the two back into reality. _

"_Uh, Aunty Kuga?" It was the sound of the young Takeda. "Natsuki's outside in the rain."_

"_What?!" She groaned at the news. Sometimes she wondered what she did wrong raising that child. And with that, the two Kugas raced down to rescue the child that represented the love they once had for each other._

* * *

Just when Ryo finished wiping off all the moisture, there was a buzz from his cellular phone. Reaching down thinking that it was Usagi thanking him for the flowers, he opened the text message with a smile. The contents he found on the phone, however, were nothing that he expected. In fact, it horrified him.

"ryo help me the boy you sent i thought it was you and when he saw me he just attacked me. dont want to be alone"

The text was disjointed, lacking capitalization. She must have typed it in haste.

_Run to her_, his mind told him, and his body intended to do exactly that. Dropping the doll, he sped out of the laundry room, causing Shizuru to fall lifelessly on top of the dryer, alone in the dark. There were voices talking to him, but nothing was going through his ear. He reached the kitchen table and grabbed his car keys. Mutsumi, who saw that her husband was moving with such urgency, went to Ryo, thinking something serious must have happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her hand touching his shoulder.

"I need to leave right now." He didn't explain, but Mutsumi knew. _I need to leave right now and go to her_. She was able to fill in the rest of the words.

"Ryo, I thought – "

"Shut up, Mutsumi. There are some things you just don't understand. Something happened and she needs me." The forcefulness of his tone was foreign. Without even giving her a chance to further implore him, Ryo opened the door and left. The cobalt-haired woman stood staring at the door, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. It was eerily quiet and she knew that the people around the area had heard them. Turning around, she watched the judging eyes of her guests. _Poor Mutsumi, being left for another woman again. What's wrong with that Ryo, it's Christmas. How could he do that to her?_ Of all the people, Yoko was the only one to approach her. Not wanting to further create a spectacle, Mutsumi put on her best fake smile and announced to the crowd, "Ryo just went to go check on his father. He'll be back later. Please excuse us for worrying you."

Most people accepted the response. Most knew it was a lie, but they weren't going to harass her when she didn't want to speak of it. And everyone returned to their previous activities, but in their minds they formulated their own interpretations of what just occurred. Only Yoko was brave enough to not dismiss the façade, and went to soothe the hostess. Mutsumi knew that their marriage was never going to be mended.

When Natsuki had finally finished cleaning herself up, most of the people had left the party. Disappointed that Shizuru still wasn't in her room, she crept downstairs in search of her only companion. Squeezing through the crowd, at which some of the adults would say their goodbyes, she found her mother putting all the used utensils in the sink. The Takeda family was also still here, and they assisted her mother in cleaning up the after mess of the party.

"Hey Natsuki," the tanned boy greeted. Though still uneasy from Satomi's earlier comment, he still wanted to try to maintain a friendship with the girl of his dreams.

"Er, hi." She didn't want to talk to him; she just wanted to be with Shizuru again. Who knew what crazy things happened when she wasn't there to protect that doll? The fact Natsuki responded sparked a small flame of hope for Takeda, who had expected that the girl would just roll her eyes and ignore him. Maybe Satomi was wrong after all.

"Mom, where's my doll?" she asked as her mother dumped another load of used plates into the sink.

"I think your father took her to the laundry room to be cleaned up," Mutsumi replied, her mind preoccupied with tidying up the house. At the end of the party, many of the guests had praised the success of another great Christmas party, without a single mention of her little spat with Ryo. Thus, Mutsumi was somewhat proud of her own accomplishments and decided to use it to keep her mind off of other issues.

"Oh, where is Dad?" As soon as the words came out, the Takeda couple looked at Mutsumi. As though not even fazed by the question at all, Mutsumi calmly continued whatever she had been doing.

"Daddy's off helping Santa with his presents, he'll be back later," she said cheerfully in an almost sing-song like tone. As much as she despised Ryo's actions, she could never ruin her daughter's image of her father. Even if Ryo was a cheating prick, he was still a good father. Whatever problems they had were only between her and Ryo. There was no reason to involve an innocent eight-year-old.

"Wow! Daddy helps Santa? That's so cool!" Her eyes were gleaming so brightly in awe that Mutsumi almost wanted to laugh.

"Of course, so hurry and go to sleep, and tomorrow you'll get to open all those presents." Although, there were times when Mutsumi wished that she didn't give Ryo so much undeserved credit.

"But, where's my doll?"

"Laundry room," the older woman replied, wondering why Natsuki didn't hear her the first time.

"Right." And with that, the eight-year-old girl dashed as fast as she could to the laundry room.

"Shizuru?" she questioned softly as she slowly opened the door of the laundry room. Turning on the light, she saw her strange companion covered with a towel lying motionlessly on top of the dryer. "Hey, Shizuru, wake up."

Finally stirring from her long nap, a still very wet Shizuru opened her ruby eyes. Her skin was even paler than before and she curled into a fetal position as though to protect herself from the cold. The towel provided almost no warmth and Shizuru found herself still having trouble speaking. "N-Na…"

"They didn't clean you up? Oh man, Shizuru. I'll take you back to my room. Can you walk?" The younger girl extended her hand to assist her friend, who for some reason was reluctant to move. Thinking that either Shizuru was too cold to move or too lazy, she turned around with her back to her friend. "Get on, I'll carry you."

"T-t-too h-he…"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty strong," Natsuki proudly declared as she flexed her miniscule biceps. Rearranging herself so she was sitting on top of the dryer, Shizuru jumped down onto the younger girl's back. Not prepared for the sudden weight, Natsuki collapsed onto the floor with the doll next to her.

"I wasn't ready, stupid!" she said, flustered, while Shizuru managed to chuckle. Sighing to herself, she pulled her friend up and this time prepared herself as Shizuru's full weight leaned against her back. Once she felt supported, she looped her arms under Shizuru's freezing legs so that she could give the girl a piggy back ride. The weight difference wasn't very much and in a way, Natsuki just felt like she was carrying a really heavy backpack.

Going upstairs proved to be quite a challenge, but when she felt Shizuru shiver, she pushed herself to go even faster. Little did Natsuki know that as soon as Shizuru was halfway up the stairs, Mutsumi turned on the heater, emitting soothing warmth throughout the house. Eventually, the doll was thawed from the heat and could have probably walked the other half. However, she decided not to say anything because she enjoyed being carried by her owner. She knew it was unlikely that the emerald eyed girl would ever carry her again. It was such a nice feeling to be carried by Natsuki, even though her thin arms kept shaking due to her decreasing strength. Chestnut lashes hid her bright red eyes and she laid her head on the shorter girl's shoulder. When they finally arrived at her room, the eight-year-old was exhausted beyond belief. Natsuki shrugged to get her friend off and then proceeded to fall onto the floor.

"Thanks Natsuki. I'm feeling much better now that the heater is on." She just had to tease her.

"Uh-huh," the girl breathlessly said, too tired to really listen to her friend.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom and change," the doll announced as she gathered a fresh dress from her limited clothing collection.

"Uh-huh."

"I'm going to open all your presents after that too, okay?" the older girl joked, seeing if her friend was really paying attention.

"Uh-huh." Clearly she wasn't.

"Just checking, see you later." She laughed as she closed the door of the bathroom, leaving Natsuki to recover from her strenuous workout.

After being there countless of times, Ryo had practically memorized the way to Masami's apartment. Thus, he knew the secret key that she hid only for him underneath the third potted plant on the left wall. He also knew that she lived on the twelfth floor inthe room all the way at the end of the corridor. He ran so fast that the scenery was a blur to him.

When he finally arrived, he saw that the door was unlocked and pushed it with all his strength. It was hard for him to take in the sight before him. Masami was crouched in the corner with her arms hugging her legs. The flowers that he bought for her were broken and scattered all over the room. Her couch was pushed to an odd location with half the cushions left on the floor. The table had also been relocated and the contents on top sprawled everywhere. His bunny lifted her head and looked at with such a broken expression. Her hair was disheveled and tears mixed with black mascara ran down her cheeks. She called out his name in the most defenseless voice he ever heard.

"We need to call the police," he said rationally. He would have done it earlier, but he wanted to make sure with his own eyes that she was alright.

"No!" she shouted, not wanting the police to investigate something that she created. "I mean, no, I just really want you by my side."

Like a slave to his master, he obeyed. He sat beside the woman and pulled her onto his lap. She cried into his chest, whispering how scared she was and more importantly, how glad she was that he was there.

"I'll kill him, I swear." He couldn't believe that this happened, or the fact that it was because of him that this happened. How could he be so stupid to have trusted a delivery boy with one of the most attractive women in Tokyo? Who could resist Masami's beauty, especially when she was wearing something so… so… It was then he noticed exactly what she was wearing. Her white fur-lined bra gave him a clear image of the ample swells of her chest. The bra itself was also a piece of art. The red bra was encrusted with Swarovski crystals in a way that would form the appearance of snowflakes. At the middle of the bra, right below an alluring cleavage was a satin bow waiting to be untied. He didn't dare to look any further down.

"Don't, Shinichi. I just want you to be with me," she whispered in a husky voice against his neck. She held him tighter. She'd lure him into thinking that this was his entire fault and then she would make him hers. "Just stay."

_Masami_, _I'm so sorry_. How stupid it was for him to think that it'd be okay for her to be alone on such a day. Mutsumi would have been perfectly fine without him there, why couldn't she just let him go along with his plan. And the fact that Mutsumi almost wanted to prevent him from coming, it was maddening. And suddenly he felt a hand caress his cheek, and luscious lips pressing against his. Thinking Masami was seeking comfort in the form of true affection, he deepened the kiss. _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry_. But to whom was he really apologizing to?

Back at the Kuga residence, Shizuru watched as her friend snoozed on the floor. And as much as she'd hate to disturb the girl's slumber, she knew that sleeping on the bed would be much more comfortable. She could drag Natsuki near the bed, but getting her into it was going to be a challenge. Thus, she did the most reasonable thing any other person would've done.

"Wake up, drooling beauty," she whispered as she continuously poked Natsuki's cheek. The incessant feeling of a sharp fingernail jabbing her cheek finally caused the younger girl to look at her friend sleepily.

"Let's go to bed." Since Natsuki was in no state to argue, she sluggishly pulled herself up and trotted to her bed. Pulling back the blankets, the older girl made sure that Natsuki wasn't going to fall asleep on top of her sheets without any warmth. Once her master was surely underneath the warmth of the blankets, Shizuru crawled inside and cuddled against her friend. The only thing separating the girls was a small dog plush and even that wasn't big enough to truly stop Shizuru from sneaking an arm and embracing both the pup and her friend.

"Merry Christmas, Natsuki."

And downstairs, alone in the kitchen, was a mother holding a hot cup of tea between her hands. Sipping the relaxing beverage, she was glad to have the house back to its tranquil state and yet something in her mind knew that things weren't as peaceful as they should be. She wondered where Ryo was and what caused him to rush out of the house with such necessity. She wondered if Ryo's feelings were diminishing and if he was growing more attached to this other woman. She wondered what to say or do the following day when Ryo returned, or when he would. A foreign saline liquid dropped into her tea, and then another and another.

"Don't break your promise Ryo… Please don't…"

* * *

Author's Notes: So, um, I didn't die, but I do apologize for the super long delay. It was a mix of my computer crashing, doing college apps, then being busy in college, and not feeling like writing. All is better now though! As always, I'd like to thank my wonderful beta, who still beta-ed for me even though I haven't been online for like TWO YEARS. I'm really sorry bout that Olivia, I should've given a notice or something before disappearing off like that. Anyway, it's been a while since I last written something that didn't need to be turned in to a professor, so forgive me if my writing suddenly turned into crap. Also, I know there wasn't that much Shiznat in this chapter, but there will be lots in the next. I just had to set up the story for stuff that would be happening later. Thanks to all who have waited patiently for my continuation, hope I didn't disappoint you guys. I WILL COMPLETE THIS STORY EVENTUALLY! Post statement, it's really cold and now back to studying for my midterm. Ciao.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: LET IT BE A MERRY CHRISTMAS PART 1

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Disclaimer: Same as before except for some implied sexual activity.

* * *

Of all the three hundred sixty five days of the year, three hundred sixty six on leap years, there were only a handful of days when Natsuki would actually wake up before 6 AM. It was approximately 5:45 AM when Natsuki suddenly woke from her slumber, her emerald irises seeming to sparkle at the sudden realization of today's date. Looking at the window, Natsuki noted that it seemed the sun was just about to wake from its slumber as well. The radiant rays slowly peeked from beneath her curtains and casting a growing light amongst her dark room. With the knowledge that the sun was definitely up, Natsuki was finally completely awake. Just as she was about to shout at the top of her lungs for today's holiday, she noticed a familiar pile of tousled hair right by her. Quietly, she leaned over to take a better look at this other person and was surprised to find that this other girl was still asleep. Did she not know what today was? Just to make sure, Natsuki carefully brushed away some loose light brown strands from the other girl's face. Apparently, this other girl, who clearly was not aware of today's date, still had her eyes closed. Natsuki almost scoffed when she noticed a smile pile of drool near the girl's mouth. _So much for always making fun of me!_ Still, Natsuki decided that she might as well complete her daily morning routine before attending to waking up the drooling girl. Making sure she wouldn't make a single sound loud enough to wake the other girl up, Natsuki slowly made her way to the bathroom, completely oblivious to the spying ruby eye following her every movement.

As soon as the bathroom door was shut, Shizuru lifted her head from the bed and frowned at the realization that there was a small wet spot on her pillow. She hoped that the younger girl hadn't noticed it whilst previously observing her. Shizuru would've hated the thought of Natsuki using the information to endlessly tease her back. Nevertheless, Shizuru was wide awake the moment Natsuki woke up. If the blue-haired girl thought she was ever subtle in her movements in bed, she was sadly mistaken. Sitting up, Shizuru reached her arms into the air to give herself a good stretch before she would set her trick on Natsuki into motion. Duran, who had been in her arms the whole time, was also lifted into the air and once Shizuru brought her arms down she made sure to kiss the tip of the dog plush's cool nose.

"You going to help me today, Duran?" she whispered to the dog as she heard the water running in the bathroom.

Moving quickly before her beloved companion would return, Shizuru grabbed one of Natsuki's extra pillows and pushed it underneath the sheets while she rolled out of them. Now standing beside the bed, Shizuru fluffed the pillow a bit more before admiring her own handiwork. She pulled the blanket above the pillow so that it would look like she curled beneath the blankets, and set Duran right at the top of the blanket as through to impersonate that the dog was now sleeping above her head.

"You're going to stay right here and pretend we're still sleeping," she directed, and she giggled at her own cleverness. Now all she had to do was hide, and when Natsuki would come out to wake Shizuru up, the younger girl would be surprised to find only a pillow beneath the blankets. And as soon as the confusion set in, Shizuru would sneak out from her hiding place and scare Natsuki. It was the perfect plan, but now where to hide? Unfortunately, just as she was about to decide, Shizuru heard the bathroom door handle jiggle and she quickly scattered to hide behind the sofa she used to sleep on. Covering her mouth, she waited for her plan to unravel.

Swearing that she just heard something in her room, Natsuki cautiously opened the door of her bathroom. When looking into her room, she couldn't really point out any terribly noticeable difference. Still, she proceeded to her bed with warning because if living with Shizuru for these past months had taught her anything, it was that Shizuru loved to tease and prank her. Looking toward the lump on the bed, Natsuki wondered when Shizuru started sleeping with her head beneath her blanket. She had always assumed the girl loved sleeping like a miniature version of Sleeping Beauty, all pristine and supine in her sleep, with some extra drooling. Duran seemed to have been moved too, his beady black eyes seeming to gaze intently in a certain direction.

"Behind the sofa, Duran? That's what I was thinking too. Shizuru would never sleep with her head below some blanket. She probably thinks she'd suffocate," Natsuki whispered softly in the direction of Duran before considering her next action. She could either walk as silently and slowly as possible and sneak up on Shizuru, or do a full on charge run and jump onto the sofa and scare the other girl. Lucky for her the sofa was facing her direction, which she figured Shizuru must have moved to better conceal her body.

_No point in wasting any more time,_Natsuki thought to herself as she readied herself, suddenly running at top speed. Shizuru's head perked up at the incoming pitter-patter of footsteps. This wasn't according to plan.

As Natsuki dashed toward the chair, she jumped onto the seat's cushion and over the rest of the sofa, screaming the loudest she possibly could, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Shizuru, on the other hand, completely unprepared for the attack, also screamed and watched as Natsuki landed beside her with a great thud. The younger girl, who didn't really plan too far ahead in her own landing slid a bit backwards and soon found herself lying on the floor next to a very frightened Shizuru. The look on the older girl's face was priceless and oh so much more satisfying than the drooling face she had earlier discovered this morning.

"Merry Christmas, Shizuru," Natsuki repeated, looking up at an upside down version of Shizuru's face. The older girl's eyes were completely widened to the point you could see a full white rim around her red gems. Shizuru looked so uncharacteristically terrified and affected by the backfire of her own plan that Natsuki began to howl with laughter.

"H-how did you know?" was all the crimson-eyed doll could mutter.

"That it's Christmas? I've been counting down the days until Christmas since the last Christmas, silly," Natsuki said as she continued to laugh at her doll's expression.

"No, I mean how did you know I was behind the couch?" She was sure she hadn't left any trace of her actions. It was perfect! How did Natsuki manage to see through it?

"You think after living with you all this time, I wouldn't know how you sleep?" Natsuki replied, believing her own observations to be quite brilliant. She never even realized that she left herself wide open for a tease and as soon the words left the proud girl's mouth, Shizuru's cherry lips broke into a smirk.

"Ara, I didn't know Natsuki enjoyed watching me sleep." The smirk grew now into a full-fledged smile. _Got you now!_

"What? I… I didn't say…" However, no matter what she said, nothing could wipe the horrid smile from Shizuru's face. And just as Natsuki was scared she was going to lose her advantage, she remembered a very particular fact she saw this morning. "Why would I enjoy watching you sleep? You drool!"

At that, Shizuru inwardly cursed the fact that her friend did indeed see the spot of drool on the pillow. Still, no matter, if Natsuki was going to play that game then Shizuru was more than ready for this battle.

"Says the queen of drooling, which by the way, never stopped me from enjoying watching you sleep," Shizuru responded as she gave the younger girl an honest smile. To tell the truth, Shizuru loved Natsuki's strange, quirky sleep habits. Besides drooling, the tomboy also seemed to be quite active in her sleep and would fuss around a lot at night. The worst thing she ever did was kick Shizuru in her sleep, but other than that there wasn't too much of a problem. Of course, during the nights she was kicked, Shizuru would just lay looking at Natsuki's face. She would take the time to carefully study every single feature, embedding them into her mind in case the two of them were to ever be separated. She never wanted to forget her precious new friend. Eventually, when the feeling of sleepiness began to creep up on her, she would close her eyes and sleep, hoping that she would have another day to wake up to with Natsuki.

"You like to watch me sleep?" Natsuki curiously asked as her cheeks reddened. She wasn't sure why that fact suddenly made her self-conscious. It probably had to do with the fact that she's never seen her own sleeping face, besides those horrible baby pictures, but those don't count.

"Of course," Shizuru answered truthfully, who wouldn't enjoy seeing the scowling girl at her most vulnerable point? Feeling that she had embarrassed the other girl enough, Shizuru leaned over the girl who lay below her and said, "Merry Christmas to you too, Natsuki."

"CHRISTMAS!" How could she forget for this long that it was Christmas? Those presents weren't going to open themselves! In her own hurry to get up, Natsuki knocked her forehead into Shizuru',s causing both girls to yelp in pain.

"What are you doing?!" Shizuru asked as she grabbed her forehead, carefully rubbing it to help alleviate some pain.

"I thought you'd move!" Natsuki barked back as she mirrored the other girl's movement by clutching her forehead. Once again, Natsuki was lying on the floor, nowhere closer to her presents.

"You came at me so fast," Shizuru complained, "How was I supposed to know?"

"I don't know! I thought you as a magic talking doll might as well have psychic powers –" And just before Natsuki could finish her sentence, there was a knock at the door.

"Natsuki?" It was her mother. Natsuki anxiously turned to look at Shizuru, but the other girl was already safe and sound in her doll form. "May I come in?"

"Sure, Mom," Natsuki said as she stood up and grabbed Shizuru's hand and quickly dashed to the doll's wardrobe.

"I was just wondering what was taking so long. By this time you've usually found at least two or three presents," Mutsumi pondered as she entered the room only to find Natsuki tending to her doll's dress. Ever since Natsuki was four and understood the true meaning of Christmas (meaning she knew that every year on December 25th people gave her presents for some reason that wasn't her birthday), she would wake up as early as possible to free her gifts from their wrapped prisons.

"_But Mommy, open now!" a young Natsuki told her parents as she pointed at the stack of presents beneath the lit Christmas tree._

"_Not right now dear, it's not Christmas. When you wake up you can open, all right?" Mutsumi warmly said as she carried the little girl in her arms and carried her to her room. "Go to sleep now and you'll wake up earlier to open." She tucked her daughter into bed before giving Natsuki a kiss goodnight._

"_That's right, the earlier you sleep, the earlier you wake up to open all those presents!" Ryo said, leaning down to also give a kiss._

_The next day, Mutsumi was rudely thrust out of her sleep by the sounds of excited shrieking downstairs. Ryo, who was a relatively deep sleeper, was apparently not bothered by the noise. Groggily, Mutsumi looked at the clock and was horrified that it was 5 AM. As she made her way downstairs she watched in amazement that her daughter not only was already awake, but had already unwrapped every single present below the tree._

"_Natsuki, what are you doing?" Mutsumi wearily asked as she bent down to caress her daughter's head. Never in her life did she ever expect Natsuki to get up so early in the morning._

"_I awaked. I open!" Natsuki said, showing her mother a silly toothy grin. She reached over to a newly unwrapped toy and proudly showed it to her mother. "Look what I got!"_

"_That's lovely, honey," Mutsumi smiled as she held yet another boyish toy in her hands. She looked to the pile of unwrapped presents and noticed most of the dresses and Barbies had been messily discarded. Heaving a sigh, she realized that her daughter continued to still not appreciate more feminine toys. She casually brushed it aside though, knowing that Natsuki was still a child and there would be time before she grew to enjoy more girly things. She reminded herself that she too used to be quite the tomboy. Still, it was a waste to be given so many lovely toys and not have them played with. The worst part was that Mutsumi usually wrote to each person whom gave Natsuki a present as a thank you. With all the presents exposed from their paper prisons, there was no way for Mutsumi to know who gave what._

_Next year, Mutsumi thought to herself, I'm going to have to find a way to beat Natsuki to this present ordeal._

_And so she did. Clever a woman as she was, Mutsumi decided that once she tucked Natsuki into bed she would wait another hour or so before unraveling her plan. Whilst Natsuki slept, Mutsumi hid every single one of Natsuki's presents somewhere in the house. She would also set her alarm at 4:30AM to make sure she'd wake before Natsuki to explain their little game. And for the past couple years, it had worked surprisingly well in her favor. The only hard part was hiding the presents. Each year required a new location and there really were only so many places that would be considered good hiding spots in the Kuga residence. Nevertheless, Mutsumi would spend a couple hours extra on Christmas Eve to ensure that not only were the presents in an almost new location, but that her daughter would be able to play this little game with her. After each present was found, Natsuki was also to report back to her mom so that Mutsumi could tell her daughter how many presents were left to be found. Then after all were found, they would sit together in the living room unwrapping them. Mutsumi would take note of whom the present was from and watch to see the contents within the gift so that she could properly thank whoever later for giving her daughter whatever._

"It's, um, Christmas, so I was thinking of making her wear something more…Christmas-y?" the younger Kuga said with a slightly confused intonation; after all, she was making up everything at the top of her head. Nervously, she grabbed the first dress she saw and started to unzip the back zipper of Shizuru's dress. However, at the sudden epiphany that she was helping her friend take off her clothes, helping that tease-loving Shizuru take off her clothes, Natsuki halted her actions.

The older female Kuga raised a dubious eyebrow at the strangeness of her daughter's behavior, but chose not to make any comment. Curiously, she observed her daughter's hesitant behavior, believing it only to be because Natsuki never really was very into seasonal dresses. So, she watched as the younger Kuga pulled out a beautiful rose-patterned summer dress and once again spaced out staring at her doll. Though Natsuki's cheeks noticeably reddened, Mutsumi assumed it was merely due to the frustration of not knowing how to dress the doll.

"Natsuki," the older woman knelt to her daughter's level and took the doll into her arms. "Don't you think the pale pink kimono with the red floral print would do perfectly for a Christmas kimono?"

The large emeralds stared at the older woman in a dumb-founded manner and all Natsuki could really do was nod. _At least I know she's becoming more girly, perhaps now we'll finally have a chance for her to try on all those dresses I bought for her._When she noticed that Natsuki hadn't moved, she knelt by her daughter and took the kimono from Shizuru's wardrobe collection.

"Would you like me to help you?" the older woman asked as she exchanged the summer dress with the kimono from the still shocked Natsuki. At the thought that her mother would be undressing her friend, Natsuki immediately broke from her stupor.

"No, it's okay, Mom. I think I got it!" There was no way Natsuki would let her friend be subjected to that kind of embarrassment. She could never imagine Takeda's mom dressing her and she was sure Shizuru would feel the same. She watched as her mother set the summer dress down on the tabletop and gave her another look that was meant to say "You sure you can handle this yourself?" Frustrated that her mother would think she couldn't even dress a simple doll, Natsuki pushed against her mother's backside. "Okay, you can go now. Go go go! I'll see you downstairs!"

As soon as Mutsumi was rushed towards the door, she gave Natsuki one final smile. "Those presents aren't going to open themselves, you know."

"I'll be down soon! Just go and drink your coffee or whatever you old people do in the morning," Natsuki shouted as she watched her mother go down the stairs.

"Natsuki?" Natsuki turned around to see Shizuru looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh… here," she said, pushing the kimono in Shizuru's direction, "You can put it on yourself, right?"

She had the utmost urge to tease Natsuki about their earlier little situation, but decided not to. Natsuki, with her head bowed down and cheeks burning red, was probably embarrassed enough and there was no reason to make the girl feel even worse. Or not.

"I thought you told your mom you got it." Shizuru winked as she took the kimono. Natsuki continued to just awkwardly stare as though she had been stunned into silence. Giggling, Shizuru was about to make her way to the restroom, when she felt a hand on her shoulder stop her from moving any further.

"I… If you need help…I…" Her words trailed off, but it was clear Natsuki wasn't going to back down. They had grown closer through these past months and it wasn't like girls didn't usually help each other change. After all, her mom helped her get into dresses all the time. This was nothing. She could do this.

"It's okay, I got it," Shizuru said, patting her friend's hand. She turned to give her a warm smile of appreciation. "If I ever do though, I'll make sure to ask you."

As the door to her bathroom shut, Natsuki quickly let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Looking at the closet, she knew she still had one more thing to do.

BAM!

"Nope…"

BAM!

"Nope…"

BAM!

"Really? Still nothing?"

"What are you doing, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, her head tilted so she could have a better view of her friend, who for some reason was sitting on the kitchen counter opening and closing every single cabinet.

"I'm looking" BAM! "for" BAM! "a present." BAM!

"Darn," the tomboy cursed as she jumped from the counter back down to the floor. "I thought for sure Santa would reuse that hiding spot." Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Natsuki wondered where Santa could have hidden her presents this year.

"What are you talking about?" Shizuru questioned. Natsuki, however, was too deep in her own thoughts to hear her doll.

"Hello?" Shizuru pestered as she waved her hand up and down in front of Natsuki's face.

"Okay, if it's not in the cabinets… it could be… IN THE PANTRY!" And suddenly, Natsuki dashed away to go into the pantry, leaving Shizuru completely baffled. What in the world was going on?

"A-HA! LOOK, SHIZURU, I FOUND ONE!" Natsuki came, holding a beautifully shimmering gold box with a red bow stuck at the top. "Santa thought he could trick me by hiding it behind the cereal boxes, but I knew something could be there!"

"Natsuki..." Shizuru was beginning to feel like she was playing a game without knowing any of the rules and Natsuki was the only person who did. "What is going on?"

"Oh," Natsuki said, lowering the present and placing it on the table. She had been so caught up with her Christmas tradition she forgot that Shizuru was even there. "It's Christmas, silly."

"I'm aware of that."

"Well, one year my mom told me that Santa didn't like all the kids in the world opening their presents before a mommy or daddy in the house was awake. So, he started hiding all the kids' presents all over their houses! The parents always get this list from Santa Clause telling them how many presents the kids have and I spend the morning looking from them until I find them all. It's super important to wait until the parent is awake because they're the only ones who can read the list and then you know how many to look for. Otherwise I could think I'm done looking for presents when in reality I have hundreds more," Natsuki explained as though it were the most obvious thing ever. "Didn't you do that in doll world or something?"

Shizuru's own memories of Christmas were indeed much different and something she didn't feel the need to disclose to Natsuki. She didn't really want to relive those lonely memories much anyway.

"Not really! Santa knew we were good little dolls and would make sure we would go to happy homes of girls who needed a friend, like you!" Shizuru fibbed as she wondered why Santa would ever give a present to a doll.

"What, you guys don't get presents?" Natsuki was shocked. No presents on Christmas just makes the entire holiday pointless. She couldn't even imagine what Christmas would be like if Santa didn't give her any presents.

"Well, our present is that we get a new friend. Someone who is as awesome and wonderful of a friend as you," Shizuru pointed out; after all, her friendship with Natsuki was definitely one of the best things that ever happened to her. Even though it didn't happen on Christmas, Shizuru was grateful for the possibility of even getting to meet Natsuki.

"Aw, Shizuru." The shorter girl gave her a sympathetic smile as she moved closer to give the girl a one-armed hug; she couldn't let go of her present just yet. And just when Shizuru thought Natsuki was going to say something poignant in return instead of her usual sarcastic comments, the younger girl just said, "I'm sorry you don't get any real presents."

"C'mon, we need to give it to my mom. There are probably still many more to find!"

"Mommy! I found one! It was in the pantry!" Natsuki ecstatically screamed as she ran to the living room to where Mutsumi was sitting. The older woman had been spending her time reading the newspaper whilst occasionally sipping her coffee. Being awake this early in the morning always required some caffeine. Still, this was one of the few moments she could cherish with Natsuki. Since Ryo never could really wake to deal with Natsuki's abnormal ability to wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas, these mornings were one of the rare occasions she could just have all the positive attention from her daughter. It would be later in the day that her husband would come crawling out of bed to more or less take it away.

"Ah, good work Natsuki," Mutsumi commended as she set her newspaper down to bring out her list. As Natsuki set the present by her mother's foot, the older woman leaned over to look at whom the present was from. After briefly searching the list for the name, she neatly crossed off the name. "Only eleven more to go."

"I got twelve presents this year?" the blue girl's eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. "That's one more than last year!"

"Better hurry and find them then, dear," her mother dismissed as she waved a goodbye. Whilst all this was happening, Shizuru had been patiently standing beside her friend in awe of what was happening. It was times like these that she remembered that Natsuki was still a child. Eager for presents and still not really understanding that there is no such thing as Santa Claus. Shizuru's own brief encounters with the idea of Santa Claus had been long shattered. But seeing Natsuki so excited about it brought upon a sense of the magic within her.

"Where do you think we should look next, Shizuru?" Natsuki asked as she scurried off, clutching the doll in her hand.

Mutsumi shook her head as she heard the words, still amused that her daughter had grown so attached to the doll. Who would have thought that after years of trying to get Natsuki to become more girly that all it took was just to give her the right doll?

"I don't know, maybe Santa hid one in each room?" Shizuru suggested in an unsure tone. The doll took another glance at Natsuki's mother, whom seemed to be calmly reading her paper as though this seemed to be a pretty ordinary happenstance during Christmas. She had deduced that the Kugas have yet to tell their beloved daughter that Santa wasn't real and that instead they indulged in Natsuki's little beliefs with a game. It then hit Shizuru. The reason why Natsuki's mother was acting so normally was because this was all her idea. She was the one who hid the presents and told Natsuki this fable that Santa hid the presents. And while Shizuru found it sweet that Natsuki's mother didn't yet crush the naïve idea of Santa Claus, she also found it a bit cruel because eventually her blue-haired master was going to find out and it wasn't going to be a very pleasant moment. Still, it got Shizuru to think. Perhaps the Kugas kept up with the Santa Claus character because it brought Natsuki happiness. Though Shizuru personally thought it was the presents that made her happy. But maybe the Kugas knew that and by continuing the Claus, Natsuki was always able to get one more present from her parents. It was a strange demonstration of love and one Shizuru was not familiar with.

"Well duh," Natsuki said exasperatedly. She shook her head at how silly Shizuru's question was; of course Santa would try to utilize every room, but the question was where in the room. "But I mean where do you think we should look?"

"The kitchen is a big place. Perhaps Santa hid more than one present there?" the doll suggested, but Natsuki's eyes continued to uninterestedly stare at her. Shizuru sighed as she realized that the girl wanted an even more specific location, and so she decided to throw a random answer. At least that would finally satisfy her. "The oven?"

"You want me to look in the oven." Natsuki gave an incredulous look. Last time she looked in the oven, it was filled with mostly trays and other baking instruments that couldn't fit elsewhere. For the past couple years she's checked, there had never been a single present in there.

"You never know," Shizuru said, smiling, her smile growing wider as Natsuki's look grew more and more confused. Surely enough though, Natsuki decided to take Shizuru's advice and slowly made her way to the oven. Standing in front of the oven, she turned to Shizuru to cast one more obvious show of doubt. Shizuru nodded her head in encouragement.

Gripping the metal handle of the oven, Natsuki used her strength to slowly pull down the latch. Squatting down to get a better look, she quickly sifted through the many cookie sheets and cupcake trays to find a strangely neon green item. _That definitely doesn't look like something that would belong in here_, she thought as her hands made contact with the irregular shaped object. The wrapping paper crinkled upon contact and as soon as Natsuki could feel that it was indeed a present, she eagerly grabbed the item and pulled it out of its concealment.

"I can't believe you were right! I would have never thought to look in the oven! I never thought something could fit in there, but it did! It really did!" The present wasn't particularly large, but by the shape of it, one could easily make it out to be some sort of stuffed animal – most likely a stuffed bear. The neon green shined proudly in the light as though to shout to the world that it had finally been found. The light blue ribbon with cartoonish Christmas trees was a nice addition to the present and only emphasized the fact that it was meant for a young child.

The two girls walked together to add yet another present to the massive collection, Natsuki proudly smiling as she showed her mom another discovery.

"You're pretty tricky Santa, but I caught on!" she said excitedly, handing her mother the second found present of the day. Seeing her daughter act like such a child was so endearing, especially since Mutsumi was beginning to worry her daughter was going to grow out of their tradition. And as she watched Natsuki smile with such ease, she knew it was a genuine smile and it had been so long since Natsuki would display such smiles to her even if it was really for the thought of Santa and his presents.

"Of course he couldn't fool you, could he, sweetheart?" Mutsumi said as she took the present to check who gave it. She then retrieved a small paper on the small table next to the couch and wrote another name.

"No way! I'm eight years old now Mom, Santa's silly to think he could ever fool me," Natsuki huffed before running off back into the kitchen search of her many other presents.

"So do you need my help?" Shizuru asked as she watched as her friend continued to wreck havoc. As some pots and pans fell to the floor creating a loud clang, Shizuru turned to see Mutsumi who cringed at the sound.

"Uhhh, probably, you were right about the last present," Natsuki said as she shifted more pots to the side. Shizuru sympathized with the older Kuga who was sure to have to clean this entire mess later. It was then Natsuki realized she would be actually asking Shizuru for help and for something she already told her mom that she wouldn't have trouble doing. "I mean…you can if you want. I can find them myself you know, I'm not a baby."

Shizuru cleared her throat to catch Natsuki's attention before saying, "Of course you're not a baby." Natsuki paused in her search to look over only to realize that Shizuru had lifted one of the lids of the pots to reveal a small wrapped box. Immediately, the blue haired girl scrambled to grab the present.

"How did you know?" her green eyes widened.

"Who do you think made me?" Shizuru's eyes sparkled mischievously in return. It wouldn't hurt to tease Natsuki a little more.

"Not Santa… no way! Because I got you on my birthday! Santa only does Christmas presents!"

"Well… not Santa, but my maker… he was a close friend of Santa's. And with every doll given out, we are equipped with the knowledge of where Santa hides his presents. Because we're such amazing and loving –"

"You tell me this _now_?" Natsuki's hands gripped Shizuru's shoulders as she forcefully shook the doll. "You know where _all_ the presents are?"

Truth be told, Shizuru did know where some were. She had thought it to be a dream when she saw Natsuki's mother wandering around the house hiding objects, but now it was beginning to make sense. However, being that it was so late in the night she only was able to witness where a couple of the presents were hidden, so she didn't know all of them. In fact, she only was able to find the one in the pot because when Natsuki haphazardly tossed it aside it made another sound as though something were in it.

"Yeah, but I'm not allowed to tell you everything. That ruins Santa's magic," Shizuru explained as she rocked back and forth on her heels. She watched as Natsuki's face turned sour, all scrunched up as though disappointed.

_Does that mean Shizuru knows that I got her a present? Or does that only apply to the owner of the doll? I hope she doesn't know, I want it to be a surprise!_Natsuki thought to herself hoping that her creepy doll didn't also neglect to tell her about telepathic abilities and whatnot.

"Okay well you shouldn't have told me that! You got my hopes up, but I think to make me feel better, you can tell me where another present is." Natsuki put on her best grin, showing as many teeth as she could. Shizuru internally snickered at how fake the smile was; her friend looked ridiculous. "Please please, Shizuru, I'm not even allowed to open them until I find them all."

"Mmm..." Shizuru feigned contemplation. She kind of liked watching Natsuki beg for her help.

"Isn't it your job to make me happy? You know what would make me really really really happy Shizuru?" Natsuki had officially thrown away her pride just for the thought of being able to open presents. The sight made Shizuru wonder if this was a normal occurrence with children. She certainly didn't remember…

"Shizuru. Shizuru-chan. Shizu-chan," Natsuki pouted as she batted her eyelashes at the doll. It was so foreign for Shizuru to witness Natsuki in such a… willing mood. It was almost disturbing if Shizuru didn't also think it was kind of adorable.

"Fine, I will tell you…" Shizuru sighed.

"YES YES YES YES YES YES! THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHIZURU!" Natsuki dashed forward to envelop her friend in a huge hug.

"But only one!" Shizuru gasped out as Natsuki continued to squeeze her to death. "And on one condition!"

"What?" Natsuki pulled back so she could show off another toothy smile.

"You have to give me a kiss! That way we won't be on the naughty list nex-" But before Shizuru could finish her sentence, Natsuki surged forward and kissed Shizuru swiftly on the mouth. Shizuru's eyes widened once more in shock of how fast Natsuki followed through with the request.

"Easy!" Natsuki said as she used the back of her hand to wipe at her mouth. Shizuru sighed a bit at her friend's action, it wasn't that Natsuki wanted to show her affection, the girl was really desperate for those presents. "Okay, so where is it?"

"All right, All right, follow me," Shizuru said leading Natsuki to the laundry room as a giddy young Kuga bounced happily behind.

* * *

"Mmm," Ryo grunted as he heard an alarm go off. Turning over, he reached out to where his alarm clock would normally be only to be surprised that it wasn't there. After feeling around a bit more, he became increasingly more aware that his alarm clock was no longer where it usually was, and yet it still continued to ring. He also realized that it sounded a bit different from the tone he usually set it to. _Mutsumi must have moved and changed it to mess with me._ However, the more he listened, the more he realized it wasn't even on the side of bed he was sleeping. Suddenly, the loud ringing was silenced, and he felt a soft hand against his back. The gesture, however, was a lot more intimate than how his usual morning routine with Mutsumi was. Soon, a body followed and he felt the gentleness of a woman's body press into his back, those soft hands now trailing up and down the sides of his body. He smiled at the touch, which only grew as a loving kiss was placed against his shoulder blade.

_Wait… my shoulder blade? Mutsumi and I haven't slept together in the nude for quite some time…_

"Shinichi..." Those fingers reached down to intertwine with his own.

_Shinichi…_

His eyes grew as he suddenly realized where he was and who he was with. Panic struck his heart as the memories from last night began to pour into his mind. He had just been comforting her hadn't he? He remembered how he held her in his arms, how much she appreciated the security and lovingness he brought to her. He remembered how the embrace turned into a kiss, and how the woman told him that all she wanted was for him to make her feel safe again – to feel like she could trust men again. And so he did, he gave all that he could to her. It wasn't like he was doing anything bad, he was trying to help the woman. He wanted her to know that men weren't all cruel and disgusting like the ones who had defiled her before. He wanted to erase all of that and show her what love was. But, there was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind about the man that he himself was. During his time of helping out this beautiful, scared, lonely woman, wasn't there another that he should really be with?

"Mutsumi," he muttered, tightening his grasp on those hands before turning around to look at her. Letting go, he reached out and caressed her cheek, noticing for the first time how beautiful she looked waking up. Her face immediately scrunched though and she recoiled at the touch.

"That's not my name," she said, a little bit confused.

"I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to it's just that…"

"Is that her name?" Masami said, regaining her composure. "Is that the name of that horrible woman who doesn't understand or love my Shinichi?" Her words were challenging, as though forcing Ryo to acknowledge that his time with his wife wasn't as worthy as his time with her.

"I don't want to talk about her," he said, closing his eyes at the realization of the gravity of his own situation. He had just slept with a woman that wasn't his wife. Slowly the understanding of the act he had just committed was beginning to settle in. Masami watched as Ryo started to draw himself away. She wouldn't let him escape her that easily though.

"No, no, no," she said, leaning forward taking his face into her hands. "Of course we're not going to talk about her. What matters right now is you and me. Don't worry about her. She doesn't need to know what happened here, that's just between you and me."

_Then why do I feel so awful about it_, Ryo thought as he lowered his head to allow Masami to cradle it. He felt tears pooling in his eyes, but willed himself to not cry in front of Masami, after all she was the one that had been going through everything. She was the one who was raped. How could she ever understand what it means to be with someone and not have them betray her trust unless he showed her? She had told him that he was the only man she ever trusted with her life and he needed to respect her wishes. At the same time though, something in him told him that it was more than just wanting to help her. Masami was beautiful, young, and most importantly, needed Ryo. And while Mutsumi certainly wasn't unattractive or old, her independence had become sort of an insecurity for him. It was like his wife didn't even need him anymore. Being with Masami reminded him of the times of his youth with Mutsumi, when they were fun and intimate – a time when their love was full of passion and a time where he felt she needed him to protect her from the world. To love, to provide, and to maintain security. Where had the spark gone? It had been so long since Ryo felt anything remotely close to love with Mutsumi and suddenly with Masami he felt like the young school boy figuring out the feeling of love for the first time. It was exciting, and fuck, he could be falling in love with Masami.

"You did nothing wrong," she said seriously. She held his gaze making sure that he understood the words coming out of her mouth and how much she believed in them. "You helped me feel whole again. You helped my feelings of loneliness and hate go away. When I'm with you, I'm happy. I'm safe. And I know I do the same for you. Don't think about anything else. It's just between you and me."

"Just between you and me?" he chuckled as he kissed her palms. He could feel her relax under his sudden words, knowing that the topic of the wife was no longer going to be an issue. He wasn't going to ruin their moment with thoughts of Mutsumi. No, he could wait until later for that. He'd have to go home and deal with that anyway.

"Always," she said, leaning forward to capture his lips, pouring in every amount of promise she could with her kiss. _Soon, Shinichi, you will be mine. I will make sure of it._

"I like the sound of that."

"You know what else I like between you and me?" she said, whispering into his ear before nibbling on his earlobe.

"What?" he breathed huskily as she pushed his chest down and crawled on top of him.

"Nothing."

* * *

Author's Note: Merry belated Christmas everyone! Hope you all had a great one! I've been gone for a while, but I'm happy to say I finally am back! The Christmas chapter is now broken up into different parts, otherwise who knows when I would actually finish that chapter (it's going to be quite the emotional roller coaster). Horrible place to end it, I know, but the warm fuzzies will continue on in the next part. I'm so sorry for the delay, but thank you to everyone who was so patient and I hope this chapter was somewhat satisfactory T_T. Thank you to my lovely beta, Olivia, for forever being the best beta ever and for not scolding me that it took me so long to write (and thank you for still betaing for me in spite of my super long absence). But the good news is I only have a couple more chapters before I'll be done with the first arc of the story. And yes, I know Natsuki's mom's name is Saeko. I honestly don't remember how I fudged that up when I first wrote it. I would go back to change it, but that ruins a bit of what I have in plan later ;). Til next time then! Thanks for reading and happy holidays.


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